The Marine Mammal Stranding Center reported that a single adult and a baby dolphin got stranded in Sandy Hook Bay on Wednesday, resulting in their deaths.
The center received a distress call about two stranded dolphins near the Naval Weapons Station Earle, and upon arrival, their rescue team discovered an adult and a calf dolphin stuck on a sandbar approximately 150 feet away from the pier.
The adult dolphin was already dead, and due to the tide, its body was anticipated to wash up later. The volunteers took the calf dolphin to the vet in an attempt to save its life, it was euthanized after an exam revealed that it was severely weakened. The center stated that the calf has been moved to the New Jersey Department of Agriculture for a post-mortem examination.
It isn’t clear what caused the dolphins to wash ashore, but lawmakers and officials have been pointing to work being performed at an offshore wind farm as a possible cause for recent whale strandings in New Jersey and New York. They have urged Gov. Murphy to halt site work until a full review can take place.
However, the governor’s office says work will continue at the site, as his advisors do not believe the whale deaths were caused by that offshore wind farm work.