After feeding near the Oceanic Bridge since July 7, it’s time for the pod to go, says a marine biologist.

Wildlife experts should execute a plan to remove a visiting dolphin pod from the Navesink River or risk the animals becoming trapped inland by winter ice, a marine biologist tells the Asbury Park Press in an article published yesterday.

The water temperature will drop, the dolphins’ food supply will be leaving, and if they aren’t “removed” before winter, they will slowly but surely die, said Bob Schoelkopf, director of the Marine Mammal Stranding Center in Brigantine.

The National Marine Fisheries Service, which has the final say on protecting the mammals, “had all summer” to figure out a plan of action for them, and now it’s time to implement it, he said.

There appears to be a difference of opinion among experts, however, regarding the need to intervene. Also from the Press:

Officials don’t know if the animals can survive the winter, but bottlenose dolphins “can tolerate a very wide range of environmental conditions,” and officials don’t believe they’re stranded, stressed or “out of habitat,” said Teri Frady, a spokeswoman for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries Service in Woods Hole, Mass.

“We don’t have any reason to think they wouldn’t leave the area if the conditions are such that they’re not good for them,” and attempting to move the dolphins could lead to strandings or their deaths, Frady said.

The article also includes a discussion of the impact on the dolphins of construction on the Highlands-Sea Bright Bridge, beneath which the animals would have to pass to reach Sandy Hook Bay and the Atlantic Ocean.

In July, NOAA’s Fisheries Service recommended that the state Department of Transportation apply for an “incidental take permit” under the marine-mammal law that would indemnify the agency if construction work on the Highlands-Sea Bright Bridge harassed, harmed or killed a dolphin, according to officials.

But the DOT has yet to apply for a permit, Frady said.

The $124 million project involves replacing the Route 36 drawbridge with a fixed-span bridge. The new bridge is to be completed in Fall 2009, followed by demolition of the old structure, according to DOT spokesman Tim Greeley.

The DOT and NOAA agreed on Aug. 4 “that the type of work we are performing does not require this type of permit,” Greeley said in an e-mail. “They informed us that they are satisfied with our mitigation efforts.”
No permit required

An observer from the Marine Mammal Stranding Center was present during pile-driving activities at the bridge and reported “no effect on the dolphins, which remained near the Oceanic Bridge,” according to an e-mail from Frady.

A take-permit application would allow NOAA to more thoroughly evaluate the project and its risks for dolphins and to provide some suggestions for mitigation, or minimizing risks, she said in an interview. A permit is not required.

The DOT has gone above and beyond the requirements and “to our understanding, our mitigation efforts have satisfied NOAA,” the DOT’s Greeley said.

Schoelkopf said, “We haven’t seen any impact that we know” of from the bridge work. “However, the fact that (the dolphins) haven’t gone under the bridge may be indicative of the construction.”

Frady tells Press reporter Todd Bates ” it’s possible that” Atlantic bottlenose dolphins can tolerate winter conditions in the river, but that they “would be expected to leave” as temperatures drop and the supply of food dwindles.

If they stay in an area with unfavorable conditions and no food, “then you start to wonder” if there’s something wrong with them, she said.

Trying to capture this many dolphins is probably not reasonable, Frady said.

Attempting to herd them out to sea by using acoustic devices on boats could cause strandings, and it’s highly unlikely all of them would survive, she said.

“We certainly don’t have rehab space” for 16 bottlenose dolphins, she added.

Email this story