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Eight dolphins were found stranded in Lee County during the government shutdown, but the shutdown’s effects on the federal program that helps study the cause of the deaths are unclear.
Some of the eight animals were too decomposed to be identified with certainty, but it’s likely all of them were bottlenose dolphins, said Kim Amendola, a communications supervisor for the fisheries division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
No stranded dolphins were found in Collier County, Amendola said. She could not be reached for further comment about where in Lee County the dolphins were found.
The discovery of the eight dolphins comes after 42 dolphins were found dead on beaches in Collier and Lee counties Nov. 21-30.
As of Thursday, final test results to determine what killed the dolphins still were pending, Amendola said.
Officials theorized the dolphins found in November were healthy before ingesting fish poisoned by red tide from an offshore bloom, said Blair Mase, a marine mammal stranding coordinator for NOAA.
Full or partial necropsies on several dolphins found a toxin indicating red tide was to blame, but officials said the final test results are needed to confirm the cause of death.
NOAA Fisheries Deputy Director Jennie Lyons did not answer directly when asked whether the shutdown delayed test results or whether NOAA’s Marine Mammal Stranding Network was operating during the shutdown.
Courtesy of eu.naplesnews.com
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