Dead Dolphins Wash Ashore in Fla.
09:37 PM ET 01/03/00
FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla. (AP) -
Scientists are trying to learn why dead dolphins are washing
up on northwest Florida shores. Over the weekend, three
dolphin carcasses a day washed ashore and over the last month, the average has been about one daily. Most were full-grown, had bellies full of fish and many of the
females were pregnant, said George Gray, coordinator for a Fort
Walton Beach wildlife rescue group. That evidence rules out various
sicknesses.
Officials suspect the deaths may be related to an outbreak
of red tide, but that has not been confirmed pending laboratory tests.
Red tide is an algae that in significant concentrations can be
deadly to sealife and harmful to humans.
Most of the dolphins washed up in Choctawhatchee Bay and its
connecting bayous, but a few have turned up dead on Gulf Coast
beaches.
In late summer and early fall, a red tide outbreak near Fort
Walton Beach killed thousands of fish, but no dolphins were affected. Dozens died during a simultaneous outbreak about 50 miles
south near Panama City.
TOP
