Dolphins pulled from Shrewsbury River
Mother dies en route to ocean
for release; calf taken to aquarium
MARIE ORTIZ Larry Fulford of Cortez, Fla., guides the specially equipped boat used to capture the dolphins in the Shrewsbury River on Wednesday. Eric Zolman, a marine biologist from Charleston, N.C., is ready to help get the boat which has its engine in the center to prevent it from injuring mammals, on the trailer.
An attempt to move a 400-pound dolphin and her calf from the Shrewsbury River into the ocean ended tragically Wednesday when the mother dolphin died in transport. Prospects for the calf are called good, according to those involved in the rescue effort.
Teri Frady, communications chief for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries in the Northeast Region, said, "This kind of operation is risky but was the best choice under the circumstances. This is a very tricky undertaking. These are two wild animals, and this was a very traumatic and stressful event for them."
The operation involved 40 volunteers and professionals from nine organizations. Leading much of the operation is the Marine Mammal Stranding Center in Brigantine in Atlantic County. The center is designated to coordinate marine rescues in New Jersey.
Frady said the two dolphins have been under surveillance since Sept. 9. "Of course, the hope is that the two would have made their way back into the ocean on their own," she said. Frady noted that conditions in the river were being monitored. Particularly, officials were checking the salt levels — dolphins dehydrate in fresh water — and the availability of food. The dolphins were allowed to stay in the river as long as officials thought they could survive, "However, it came to the point where we had to act," Frady noted.
At first the operation seemed to be going fine. The two dolphins were found in the waters off Oceanport Borough and captured successfully. A special net was used. Several members of the rescue team got into the water to help move the dolphins.
Frady said that in capturing the two, an assessment of the dolphins’ health is done. "Our first choice is always for a quick release, but that’s only if their health appears to be good. However, standing by we have a police-escorted transport vehicle that will take them to the National Aquarium in Baltimore, if necessary."
According to Frady, the operation seemed to be going well until the mother dolphin became "highly stressed" while being transported to Monmouth Beach for release into the ocean. The truck stopped and the team attempted to aid the mother dolphin. She died, and the exact cause could not be determined.
The surviving calf was then moved into a special marine mammal transport truck and raced — under escort by a New Jersey state trooper — to Baltimore. "Based on our experience with these kinds of situations, the prospects for his survival are good. By the way, at the Maryland border a Maryland trooper will take over," Frady said.
The two dolphins are part of the bottlenose species, recognizable as "Flipper" from the television shows and movies. According to Frady, they are considered members of a "depleted" population due to an illness that killed off about half the species in the late 1980s.