The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has issued a “heads-up” directive to environmental agencies in the northern Gulf of Mexico after . A team from the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies in Gulport found the latest victim Friday on Ship Island with its jaw missing. Dead dolphins have also been found shot and stabbed in Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi in recent weeks.
Agencies are now on the lookout for any potential human-interaction dolphin strandings. Attacking a dolphin is a federal offense under the Marine Mammal Protection act and violators can be fined up to $100,000 and sentenced to one year in prison.
IMMS director Moby Solangi is urging residents and commercial fishermen in the area to come forward with any information related to the killings. “I think we need our fishermen friends to find these guys,” he said. “Our best allies are shrimpers.”
Via