9 dead dolphins found since Saturday in Alabama and Mississippi [View All]

[Cetacea]

Source: Press-Register

Despite what she called an “unusual mortality event” killing dolphins in the Gulf of Mexico, the top federal scientist investigating the deaths, revealed Wednesday that the government has yet to send any tissue samples for laboratory testing to determine a cause. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Blair Mase blamed the delay on complications related to oil spill litigation.

Nine more dolphin carcasses were recovered in Alabama and Mississippi between Saturday and Wednesday, bringing the total for the two states to 62 since Jan. 1, according to a list compiled Wednesday by the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies.

Ruth Carmichael, who studies marine mammals at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab, expressed frustration with NOAA and the National Marine Fisheries Service.

“It is surprising that it has been almost a full year since the spill and they still haven’t selected labs for this kind of work,” Carmichael said.

Read more: http://blog.al.com/live/2011/03/9_dead_dolphins_found_since_sa.html#cmpid=v2mode_be_smoref_face

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Dolphin neonatal deaths are up an unprecedented % 2400 compared to previous years. Tissue samples from dolphins found soon after the Deepwater Horizon exploded nearly a year ago haven't even been sent to labs yet...