NOAA: 279 dolphins dead on Gulf Coast, triple usual number

NEW ORLEANS — At least 279 dolphins have stranded across much of the U.S. Gulf Coast since Feb. 1, triple the usual number, and about 98 percent of them have died, scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Friday.

Scientists will investigate whether lingering effects from the 2010 BP oil spill and more immediate effects from low salinity because of freshwater flowing from high rivers and a Louisiana spillway contributed to the deaths, said Teri Rowles, coordinator for NOAA Fisheries’ Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program.

BP spill effects included problems with lungs and adrenal glands, which produce stress-related hormones; blood abnormalities; and general poor condition, according to earlier reports. Those reports said the spill contributed to the Gulf of Mexico’s largest and longest dolphin die-off.

“We do know some of the health conditions … are improving, but some have been slow to improve,” Rowles said. “Reproduction in the heaviest-oiled areas continues below normal.”

Erin Fougeres, administrator for the marine mammal stranding program in NOAA Fisheries’ southeast region, said 23 percent of the dolphins stranded from Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle had sores consistent with freshwater exposure. Such lesions are “not uncommon” in the spring, according to NOAA’s website .

Mississippi had 121 dolphin strandings as of Wednesday, with 89 in Louisiana, 32 in Alabama and 37 in Florida, Fougeres said.

Dolphins continued to die for years because of oil spill damage, a 2015 study reported.