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Dolphin Die-off, Florida

Date: 12 Mar 2004
From: Barbara D. Graeber BSN RN CIC<BDGraeber@aol.com>
Source: Gainesville Sun, 11 Mar 2004 [edited]
<http://gainesvillesun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/art_tips?Date=20040311&Category=APN&ArtNo=403111114&SiteData=GS&SectionCat=> At least 14 dolphins found dead in Panhandle bay
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At least 14 bottlenose dolphins were found dead Wednesday and Thursday in and along the shore of St. Josephs Bay in the Florida Panhandle, said state and federal officials who were unsure of the cause.

Post-mortems will be conducted in an effort to learn why the marine mammals died, said Thomas Pitchford, a biologist at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's Marine Mammal Pathology Laboratory in St. Petersburg.

One carcass was found Wednesday and the others Thursday, all at St. Joseph Peninsula State Park on Cape San Blas about 80 miles southwest of Tallahassee.

"This is not a species that typically strands," Pitchford said. He said all were dead when found.

Several dead fish also were found in the bay, which might indicate a toxin such as red tide might be to blame, he said.

Blair Mase, Southeast stranding coordinator for the National Marine Fisheries Service in Miami, agreed, but she said nothing has been ruled out.

Some of the carcasses were found floating while others were beached, Mase said. The Conservation Commission was using an aircraft to determine whether other dead animals were in the bay.