NOAA seeks tips on dolphin killed with hunting arrow in Orange Beach, Alabama NOAAs Office of Law Enforcement is investigating a second human related dolphin death in the Northern Gulf of Mexico in just two weeks. Another dolphin stranded dead over the weekend - this time with a hunting arrow in its side. Preliminary results of a necropsy, or non-human autopsy, suggest the dolphin lived with the arrow in its side for at least five days before eventually dying from a from a secondary infection caused by the wound. NOAA officials seek information from anyone with details of this incident. Please call NOAAs Office of Law Enforcement in Niceville, Fla., at 850-729-8628 or the NOAA Enforcement Hotline at 1-800-853-1964 as soon as possible. Tips may be left anonymously. People can help prevent future harm to wild dolphins by not feeding or attempting to feed them. Dolphins fed by people learn to associate people with food, causing them to remove bait and catch directly from recreational and commercial fishing gear. They then teach these behaviors to their young. This is frustrating to fishermen and has led to an increase in human violence towards dolphins, including retaliation by fishermen frustrated by dolphins taking their bait and catch. Harassing, harming, killing or feeding wild dolphins is prohibited under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972. Violations can be prosecuted either civilly or criminally and are punishable by up to $100,000 in fines and up to one year in jail per violation. To report a stranded, injured or sick dolphin, call 1-877-WHALE-HELP (1-877-942-5343). NOAAs mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earths environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and to conserve and manage our coastal and marine resources.
Posted on: Tue, 09 Dec 2014 01:50:10 +0000
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