During the summer of 2013 we have had mass mortality events of dolphins along three coasts of the United States and the St. Lawrence River in Canada. For some background here is a portion of a chapter from my book, The Voice of the Dolphins.
Currently, August 2013, more than 200 dolphins have died in or near New Jersey. My coverage of the dolphin MME in 1987 began in New Jersey.
A New York Times article headed “Search Widening for Clues in Puzzle of Mounting
Dolphin Deaths” reported that some one hundred dolphins had been found dead
along the shores of New Jersey and the die-off was moving farther south. An
increasing number of dolphins were being found stranded in Virginia, all of
them with bronchial pneumonia, and virtually all of them dead. The article
noted that hundreds of dolphins had almost certainly died in deep water and
would never be counted. There was real panic along the Jersey shore. In the
absence of reliable information, hypotheses blossomed among the citizens of
beach towns. Was this a form of dolphin AIDS? Had deadly toxins escaped from a
military facility nearby?
My film on whales was followed by a contract to do a
one-hour special on dolphins, again for Audubon on Turner Broadcasting. I was
to cover the wonders of dolphins in the wild but executive producer Chris
Palmer told me in no uncertain terms that there was also a strong mandate from
Ted Turner to hit conservation issues hard. The film, which was eventually
titled If Dolphins Could Talk, gave me a chance to investigate the die-off. I flew to
New Jersey.
As I began to look into this unfolding tragedy, I
remembered visiting Atlantic City, a glorious stretch of beach, as a very young
boy. The memory still evoked the smell of Coppertone and salt air. At that time
and through the early encounters with the dolphins in the Bahamas the ocean
remained a place of joy and innocence. Now, it appeared paradise might be
slipping away.
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) calls
such die-offs “unusual mortality events,” or UMEs. This UME had first been detected
by Bob Schoelkopf of the Brigantine Marine Mammal Stranding Network as early as
April. Dolphins were washing ashore and beachgoers reported their eyes were
stinging. Some even reported nausea. No one knew whether there was a connection
to the dolphin deaths.
As May turned into June, the numbers of dead dolphins
washing up on beaches had increased to the point that Schoelkopf called federal
authorities. It was the beginning of a medical mystery with ramifications of
the highest importance for dolphins and humans alike. While dolphins and small
whales strand for a variety of reasons, nothing of this magnitude had ever been
reported. The event was telling us something about the health of the oceans,
and it was crucial we find out what the message was.
When it became clear that the dead dolphins on beaches
were not isolated events, an interagency governmental task force was formed.
Representatives from agencies such as the NMFS and state and local health
departments swarmed the beaches looking for evidence.
Dr. Joseph Geraci, the man chosen to head the task
force, known as the dolphin response team, was a well-known and highly
respected marine pathologist from the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada.
As the UME progressed, Dr. Geraci came under tremendous pressure to find what
was killing the dolphins.
But few of the dead dolphins could be necropsied due
to decomposition. Where necropsy was possible high levels of contaminants such
as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were found. So every cadaver recovered had
to be treated as toxic waste and disposed of by a HazMat team. By August,
dolphins were stranding on Virginia beaches and the total number of confirmed
dead had reached six hundred.
When I interviewed Bob Schoelkopf at the Marine Mammal
Stranding Center, he told me, “We may be losing the entire near-shore
population of bottlenose dolphins along our Atlantic Coast.” He listed their
symptoms. All the dolphins had fluid in their chests, stomachs, and lungs. Most
were emaciated, indicating that they hadn’t eaten in days, or even weeks. In
addition, their mouths were lacerated, and on some, their skin was peeling.
“All their internal organs were pathologic, with enlarged spleens and other
abnormalities,” he said. Tissue samples from the Virginia dolphins were sent to
the National Veterinary Service Laboratories in Ames, Iowa, one of the
country’s leading facilities for studying animal pathology. As summer dissolved
into fall and the die-off spread southward, no diagnosis was forthcoming.
To me, the die-off was an utterly horrifying
experience. I imagined individual dolphins like Didi and Chopper first feeling
that something was wrong, then growing sicker and more vulnerable to shark
attack and finally dying in agony. And as stranded dolphins were found on beaches
of the southeastern United States, I was haunted by the idea that the lethal
agent might leap the Gulf Stream and infect the spotted dolphins I knew and
loved in the Bahamas.
After completion of If Dolphins Could Talk, I continued my investigation of the UME, financed by
a grant from the Center for Marine Conservation. During that inquiry, some very
peculiar things happened.
I flew from California to New Jersey and drove along
the eastern seaboard. During the fall of 1987, a top vet from the National Veterinary
Service (NVS) pulled me aside at one of the many public meetings held in
coastal communities to try to allay the fears of coastal dwelling humans. “I
will only speak to you on the absolute condition that you do not associate my
name with what I’m about to tell you,” he began.
I agreed but wondered why all the secrecy.
“What’s going on involves the fact that these dolphins
are loaded with chemicals such as PCBs, pesticides, and other contaminants. The
way these chemicals work is that they bio-accumulate up the marine food chain,
and because they’re lipophilic [easily absorbable by fat] they can build to
very high levels in dolphins, whales, and other marine mammals.”
The absolute levels of contamination in the water
column are very low and safe, he went on to tell me. “The chemical companies
that dump these contaminants think that by diluting the poisons they render
them effectively harmless.” What they didn’t count on was the reverse process
taking place as these chemicals are biomagnified up the food chain. The
chemicals are absorbed by plankton that are eaten by tiny fish, which are then
eaten by small fish, then larger fish, and ultimately by dolphins and humans.
“By the time they reach apex predators—including us—they’re literally
concentrated by factors of billions,” he said, his face contorted by the
thought. The chemical companies’ theory of “dilution is the solution” did not
contemplate the unfathomable ways of nature.
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