Dolphin beaching in Florida followed sub's exercises

Dolphin beaching in Florida followed sub's exercises
KEY WEST, Fla. (AP)

— The Navy and marine wildlife experts are
investigating whether the
beaching of dozens of dolphins in the Florida Keys
followed the use of
sonar by a submarine on a training exercise off the
coast.

About 70 dolphins beached themselves in the Florida
Keys after a
submarine used sonar off the coast.
By Rob O'Neal, Key West Citizen via AP

More than 20 rough-toothed dolphins have died since
Wednesday's
beaching by about 70 of the marine mammals, Florida
Keys National
Marine Sanctuary spokeswoman Cheva Heck said Saturday.

A day before the dolphins swam ashore, the USS
Philadelphia had
conducted exercises with Navy SEALs off Key West,
about 45 miles from
Marathon, where the dolphins became stranded.

Navy officials refused to say if the submarine, based
at Groton,
Conn., used its sonar during the exercise.

Some scientists surmise that loud bursts of sonar,
which can be heard
for miles in the water, may disorient or scare marine
mammals, causing
them to surface too quickly and suffer the equivalent
of what divers
know as the bends — when sudden decompression forms
nitrogen bubbles
in tissue.

"This is absolutely high priority," said Lt. Cdr.
Jensin Sommer,
spokeswoman for Norfolk, Va.-based Naval Submarine
Forces. "We are
looking into this. We want to be good stewards of the
environment, and
any time there are strandings of marine mammals, we
look into the
operations and locations of any ships that might have
been operating
in that area."

Experts are conducting necropsies on the dead
dolphins, looking for
signs of trauma that could have been inflicted by loud
noises.

And this---

NOAA: Infection To Blame For Beached Dolphins
Vets Euthanize 13 Sick Dolphins

POSTED: 2:43 pm EST March 4, 2005
UPDATED: 9:06 am EST March 5, 2005

MARATHON, Fla. -- Officials from the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric
Administration said Friday a mysterious infection is
to blame for the
more than 60 sick dolphins that beached themselves in
Marathon Wednesday.

Veterinarians have been conducting blood tests and
other medical
assessments on the dolphins for two days now, while
rescue workers and
volunteers continue trying to save the animals.

Seven dolphins have died and dozens are being treated
for dehydration.
Thirteen dolphins were in such bad shape that they
were euthanized Friday.

"We do not want to prolong the suffering of these
animals any longer.
We do have some healthy, viable animals that look like
they are going
to be very successful in rehab and we're going to be
able to get them
back out to the wild. We need to focus our effort on
those animals,"
Sarah Gomez, of NOAA Fisheries, said.

Meanwhile, veterinarians said some of the dolphins
were healthy enough
to be released back to sea Friday.

At 9:30 p.m. Friday, two of the dolphins will be moved
from the pen
and taken to the Rosenstiel School on Virginia Key
near Miami.
Saturday morning, 19 of the remaining dolphins will be
taken to two
locations, one in Key West and one in Key Largo.

More than 60 rough-tooth dolphins were found on flats
and sandbars and
in a nearby canal Wednesday evening about a
quarter-mile off Marathon.

By Thursday, most of the dolphins had been moved from
just a few
inches of water on the flats to the 15-foot-deep,
mangrove-lined
canal, said Denise Jackson, a member of the Marine
Mammal Rescue Team.

"Some are free swimming and frolicking and having a
good time," she said.

Boats brought most of the dolphins to the canal,
though one hitched a
ride on a stretcher in the back of a pickup truck,
Jackson said.

Meanwhile, the Monroe County Sheriff's Office has
closed the area of
88th Street in Marathon to everyone except those
working with dolphin
rescue groups.

Lt. Larry Kelley said no one will be allowed to enter
the area except
those with identification showing they are rescue
workers, and those
who live in the area.

"There are just too many people showing up in that
area wanting to see
the dolphins," he said. "It is extremely disruptive to
the
neighborhood and makes it very difficult for rescue
groups to conduct
their business, so we are closing the area to the
general public."

Anyone who wants to volunteer in the dolphin rescue
effort should call
the Marine Mammal Conservancy at (305) 360-2130.