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Cape dolphin strandings unprecedented

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February 04, 2012|By Amanda Cedrone

To date, 116 dolphins have been stranded on Cape Cod beaches, and 84 of those… (julia cumes for The Boston…)

An animal welfare official told a group of congressmen yesterday that the recent string of common dolphin strandings is the largest in Cape Cod’s history.

To date, 116 dolphins have become stranded on Cape Cod beaches since Jan. 12, said Michael Booth, spokesman for the International Fund for Animal Welfare. Of those that became stranded, 84 died.

“This is the largest single species stranding in the history of the Northeast,’’ Booth said.

Officials were concerned yesterday about another 10 dolphins in danger of stranding themselves in Wellfleet Harbor near Blackfish Creek, but only four eventually became stranded.

“Luckily, as far as we know, a number of dolphins were able to swim away as the high tide came in,’’ Booth said.

Of the four dolphins that became stranded, three died, and one pregnant dolphin was released back into the water from Herring Cove in Provincetown.

US Representatives Edward J. Markey and William R. Keating cohosted a briefing yesterday to explore the cause of the strandings. Katie Moore, manager of the animal welfare group’s Marine Mammal Rescue and Research team, spoke to the congressmen in Washington, D.C.

“We wanted to know everything they knew,’’ Keating said. “One thing I came away from this understanding is that it’s not simple, because there are so many factors that can be involved.’’

Officials are still unsure what is causing the strandings, but Moore told members of Congress that many strandings in the Cape Cod area are attributed to two factors, the dolphins’ tendency toward social cohesion and the Cape Cod shoreline’s features.

Dolphins have the urge to stay in a pack, which can lead to mass strandings, and the rocky shores and shallow waters of the Cape’s beach line make it difficult for dolphins to avoid dangerous low tides, Moore said.

“The Marine Mammal Rescue and Research team has been tirelessly working for the past few weeks to save as many dolphins as possible and find out more information about what caused the largest common dolphin stranding in Cape Cod’s history,’’ Moore said yesterday, according to a statement from the animal welfare group.

Rescue and research are funded by the federal John H. Prescott stranding grant program, which is in danger of being eliminated, the International Fund for Animal Welfare said yesterday. Both Keating and Markey acknowledged the need for continued funding of the program.

“This program is a great investment; the research into the cause of the mass strandings not only affects animals, but also human public health,’’ Moore said. “All of the work that has been done to build and improve the stranding rescue and research program could disappear without the federal grant funding.’’

Keating and US Senator John F. Kerry sent a letter to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Jan. 19 to ask assistance in determining the cause of the strandings.