Marine Mammals

BRIGANTINE, N.J. - Dolphins, whales, seals, and other marine animals are the "canaries in the coal mine" for those who study the health of the nation's oceans and waterways. When one of the creatures washes ashore, ill, malnourished, or dead, it's like a siren going off. In a budget-balancing move, federal lawmakers are considering cutting funds to several programs dedicated to ensuring a swimmable ocean and healthy marine ecosystem. Among the cuts in President Obama's proposed 2013 budget is eliminating all funds to the John H. Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue Assistance Grant Program.

Perhaps a decade ago, few vacationers would have thought of including dolphin and whale watching in their travel plans to the Jersey Shore, favoring places like New England or Alaska for the activity. But a greater abundance of everything from humpback and finback whales to bottlenose dolphins - technically part of the whale family - in the cleaner waters off the Atlantic coast in recent years makes this excursion a must. And with plenty of boats in Atlantic and Cape May Counties offering at least once-daily trips, usually lasting two to three hours, one can easily get onboard with the idea.

Jacqueline L. Urgo's article ("Marine Mystery at Shore," Aug. 27) suggested links between Navy "long range sonar" (which she doesn't define) off the East Coast, and recent atypical travel by and strandings of some marine mammals along the Atlantic seaboard. In fact, no long-range sonar testing is taking place off the East Coast. While mid-frequency active sonar may affect some marine mammals (specifically beaked whales) under certain conditions, it is likely that a number of other sound sources and factors have a greater impact.

The family of viruses that wasted dolphins off the New Jersey coast 10 years ago has also dealt death among cows, sheep, dogs - and humans. Since the dolphin die-off, scientists have linked viruses of this type to lethal epidemics among marine mammals from the Gulf of Mexico to an Asian lake. The viruses, known as morbilliviruses, have now been implicated in at least five waves of death among aquatic animals: Hundreds of bottlenose dolphins from New Jersey to Florida in 1987-88.

The Pentagon buildup in the Persian Gulf continued last week. The Defense Department said it had dispatched a team of five dolphins to the war-torn waterway, apparently to detect underwater Iranian mines. "Five dolphins arrived in the gulf on the 15th of October," a Pentagon spokesman said. "The dolphins have been deployed to the Middle East to provide an underwater surveillance and detection capability. " Adm. Harold J. Bernsen, commander of the Middle East Task Force, requested the assistance of dolphins, the spokesman said.

The Pentagon buildup in the Persian Gulf continued last week. The Defense Department said it had dispatched a team of five dolphins to the war-torn waterway, apparently to detect underwater Iranian mines. "Five dolphins arrived in the gulf on the 15th of October," a Pentagon spokesman said. "The dolphins have been deployed to the Middle East to provide an underwater surveillance and detection capability. " Adm. Harold J. Bernsen, commander of the Middle East Task Force, requested the assistance of dolphins, the spokesman said.

He's a feisty fellow with a personality all his own. That may be why a 47-pound yearling harbor seal that sustained four pellet gun wounds to the face is recovering nicely at the Marine Mammal Stranding Center in Brigantine, after he was found washed ashore April 13 in Virginia Beach, Va. X-rays show there are four pellets lodged in the seal's face. Veterinarians say they plan to leave them where they are. "For what he has apparently been through, he's doing remarkably well," said Bob Schoelkopf, director of the center.

Laboratory tests apparently have ruled out one set of suspected chemical pollutants as the cause of the continuing dolphin deaths along the mid- Atlantic Coast, according to New Jersey environmental officials. But as an answer to the deaths continues to elude researchers, the marine mammals continue to wash ashore. Yesterday, five decomposing dolphins were found in Delaware, and four, including two very fresh carcasses, were discovered on Virginia beaches. The number of dead dolphins now stands at more than 150, according to National Marine Fisheries estimates.

Five minutes after her handlers used a pail of fish to coax Echo into her new outdoor home at the New Jersey State Aquarium, she gave it her seal of approval. The little blind harp seal immediately began probing the floor of the Seal Shores compound with her whiskers. "Whiskers help seals feel vibrations that help them find fish," said Rhona St. Clair, assistant curator of marine mammals. "Echo's using whiskers to do the job eyes can't. " After nine months of extensive audio training in her indoor pen, Echo yesterday afternoon moved to Seal Shores, outdoor home to the aquarium's eight resident gray and harbor seals.

Navy exercise tied to dolphin deaths SAN DIEGO - A naval training exercise that included an underwater blast off San Diego's coast has been linked to at least three dolphin deaths this month, prompting a probe into whether the military violated the federal law that protects marine mammals. Navy officials, who reported the deaths of the long-beaked common dolphins after the March 4 detonation off the coast, say they were following proper procedures and will continue with the training.

ATLANTIC CITY - Environmentalists, fishermen, surfers and others lashed out at a proposal Friday to allow companies to test for undersea deposits of oil and natural gas from Delaware to Florida. At a hearing held by the U.S. Bureau of Ocean and Energy Management, opponents of the proposal vastly outnumbered supporters, who were mainly business groups that say expanded drilling would help America reduce its dependence on foreign oil. The agency, part of the U.S. Department of the Interior, plans a final decision by December.

BRIGANTINE, N.J. - Dolphins, whales, seals, and other marine animals are the "canaries in the coal mine" for those who study the health of the nation's oceans and waterways. When one of the creatures washes ashore, ill, malnourished, or dead, it's like a siren going off. In a budget-balancing move, federal lawmakers are considering cutting funds to several programs dedicated to ensuring a swimmable ocean and healthy marine ecosystem. Among the cuts in President Obama's proposed 2013 budget is eliminating all funds to the John H. Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue Assistance Grant Program.

When a young Bob Schoelkopf was working as a marine animal trainer 34 years ago at an aquarium on Atlantic City's Steel Pier - and despising how the creatures were kept in captivity - his "aha moment" came when a dying whale washed up on the beach and he was asked to care for it. There was no one else to call. In the two days that Schoelkopf sat nursing the animal before it died, he formulated a plan for a kind of antiaquarium to respond to marine mammal strandings up and down the coast.

Navy exercise tied to dolphin deaths SAN DIEGO - A naval training exercise that included an underwater blast off San Diego's coast has been linked to at least three dolphin deaths this month, prompting a probe into whether the military violated the federal law that protects marine mammals. Navy officials, who reported the deaths of the long-beaked common dolphins after the March 4 detonation off the coast, say they were following proper procedures and will continue with the training.

A gripping thriller about dolphin trafficking, The Cove is an eco-mentary that's as passionate and persuasive an argument for change as An Inconvenient Truth. And it's a chronicle of a covert operation that reveals an ugly practice that takes place in one of the planet's most beautiful spots, the fishing village of Taiji, Japan. It all started with Flipper. In much the same way that Lassie cultivated a collie craze, the popular 1960s television show about a playful and wise bottlenose dolphin created a mania for the marine mammals.

The only organization in New Jersey authorized by the state to rescue distressed marine mammals may close in three years if local officials decide there is a more valuable use for the waterfront property it leases from the city. The Marine Mammal Stranding Center, home to scientists who help wrong-way whales in the Delaware River and newborn seals that crawl onto highways, established a venerable marine veterinary-care center 22 years ago on land leased from the city for $1 a year.

Jacqueline L. Urgo's article ("Marine Mystery at Shore," Aug. 27) suggested links between Navy "long range sonar" (which she doesn't define) off the East Coast, and recent atypical travel by and strandings of some marine mammals along the Atlantic seaboard. In fact, no long-range sonar testing is taking place off the East Coast. While mid-frequency active sonar may affect some marine mammals (specifically beaked whales) under certain conditions, it is likely that a number of other sound sources and factors have a greater impact.

Perhaps a decade ago, few vacationers would have thought of including dolphin and whale watching in their travel plans to the Jersey Shore, favoring places like New England or Alaska for the activity. But a greater abundance of everything from humpback and finback whales to bottlenose dolphins - technically part of the whale family - in the cleaner waters off the Atlantic coast in recent years makes this excursion a must. And with plenty of boats in Atlantic and Cape May Counties offering at least once-daily trips, usually lasting two to three hours, one can easily get onboard with the idea.

Though he has great stage presence and draws a crowd, H?lis the whale may be performing his final act, says the Canadian researcher who knows him best. "He may be just trying to finish his life in a warmer area," said Robert Michaud, who believes H?lis belongs to a beluga whale population he has been tracking since 1986. According to Michaud, who runs the nonprofit Group for Research and Education on Marine Mammals, in Quebec, the white whale who has roamed the Delaware River this week is nearing the end of his 30-to-35-year life expectancy.