Dying Bottlenosed Dolphins Puzzle Experts

WOODBURY, N.J. — An unprecedented number of bottlenosed dolphins have washed up dead along Eastern seaboard beaches this summer, and marine experts said Wednesday they are puzzled at the reason.

Nearly 70 dolphins have been found dead this month along shores in New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia and the Chesapeake Bay area, officials said.

Twenty-four dead adult dolphins were found in the surf off New Jersey beaches in July, said Robert Schoelkopf, director of the Marine Mammal Stranding Center in Brigantine. The average annual number of stranded dolphins is four, he said.

Autopsies showed the dolphins died of respiratory distress and lung congestion while at sea, he said.

“We don’t even know the cause or how to prevent the cause,” Schoelkopf said.

Investigators from the New Jersey Division of Fish, Game and Wildlife will be conducting tests to determine if the deaths can be attributed to disease or an abnormally high concentration of chemicals from ocean pollution.

Schoelkopf said authorities might be able to stop the deaths if the cause turns out to be chemical.