Rescuers scrambled to save the dolphins, but they weren’t able to. Image: Screenshot//YouTube
Eight dolphins are dead after they stranded themselves on a New Jersey beach in Sea Isle City on Tuesday.
The New Jersey-based Marine Mammal Stranding Center (MMSC) said the incident qualified as a “mass stranding event.” After authorities were called, rescuers scrambled to get to the scene as quickly as possible. They received a call at 10:45 a.m. and the first staff member to respond was on scene in 20 minutes. It was his day off, but he knew he was closest to the area, so he took his personal vehicle to try and assist. Twenty minutes later, the MMSC’s Cetacean Response Vehicle arrived with additional staff.
By the time they got there, however, two of the dolphins were dead and the other six were not going to survive.
“The decision was made to humanely euthanize the dolphins to prevent further suffering, as returning them to the ocean would have only prolonged their inevitable death,” wrote the MMSC on Facebook. “All eight dolphins have been transported to the NJ State Lab for immediate necropsies.”
Before the dolphins were euthanized, officials spent hours pouring seawater on them to try and save them. Unfortunately, though, they were too far gone to be rescued.
“We share in the public’s sorrow for these beautiful animals,” the MMSC wrote, “and hope that the necropsies will help us understand the reason for their stranding.”
The cause of the stranding is unknown at the time of this writing. The results of the necropsies can take months to come back.
