June 30, 2008 NOAA experts are continuing to evaluate a group of
bottlenose dolphins feeding in New Jersey’s Shrewsbury River.
The biggest threat to them at the moment is the behavior of
humans eager to commune with them, rather than lack of food,
disorientation, entrapment in the river, or their apparent
health. “It’s not abnormal for coastal bottlenose dolphins to
enter a high-saline river like this one in the summer to feed on
the abundant prey,” said Larry Hansen, Protected Resources
Branch Leader at the NOAA Fisheries Service laboratory in
Beaufort, N.C. “I urge people to take advantage of the chance to
see and appreciate these animals, but to do so from at least 50
yards away.” NOAA researchers onsite observed the dolphins
actively feeding on menhaden, which are currently quite
plentiful in the river. “The animals appear to be in good body
condition, they are socializing, and do not appear to be in
distress,” said Annie Gorgone, a marine mammal specialist from
the NOAA Fisheries Service laboratory in Be