In one day, 8 stranded dolphins die on Sea Isle City, NJ beaches

🐬 6 dolphins beached on the 52nd Avenue beach in Sea Isle City were euthanized

🐬 2 on the 50th Street beach were already dead when the Marine Mammal Stranding Center arrived

🐬Police and city workers poured water on the dolphins when they were first found

SEA ISLE CITY — All eight dolphins that beached themselves on two Jersey Shore beaches Tuesday morning have died.

6 ABC Action News showed water being poured onto the dolphins lying on the 52nd Avenue beach. Fox 29 reported there were two more dolphins on the 50th Avenue beach. The dolphins were covered with blankets.

The Marine Mammal Stranding Center, which called it a "mass stranding event," said the two dolphins on the 50th Street Beach were dead when their team arrived.

"Our veterinarian looked at the other six and they were in extremely poor physical condition and rather than push them back out and have them die a slow death and drown we humanely euthanized all of them," a spokeswoman told New Jersey 101.5.

All the dolphins are being taken to a lab for necropsies to be conducted Tuesday night.

Bucket brigade to hydrate the dolphins

Sea Isle Times reported that Sea Isle City police, public works and EMS went to the beach and formed a bucket brigade to pour the water onto the dolphins.

Thirteen whales and seven dolphins have stranded on New Jersey and New York beaches since December, which has created a political divide.

One side, led by longstanding opponents of offshore wind plans, suspects the work related to wind projects is to blame and wants the Biden and Murphy administrations to implement a pause in work so it can be studied. On the other side is the Murphy administration, which says that no connection to wind development has been found.

U.S. Reps. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J. 2nd District, and Chris Smith, R- N.J. 4th District, hosted a hearing Thursday in Wildwood about offshore wind energy and its impact on marine life. Both Republicans have joined with several New Jersey mayors in calling for a moratorium on the wind energy projects.

League of Conservation Voters policy director Allison McLeod said that while she is "personally and professionally" about the recent dolphin and whale strandings she said any decisions connecting them to wind energy projects needs to be based on science.

"We will look at the results from professionals and scientists regarding today’s dolphin stranding in Sea Isle City, and we will continue to advocate for actual solutions based on those results. New Jersey LCV advocates for responsible offshore wind development that is in full compliance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act, because climate change is the biggest threat to marine life and our oceans. In order to protect all marine life, we must address our warming oceans, and offshore wind is part of the solution," McLeod said in a statement.

Photo courtesy Sea Isle Times

Dan Alexander is a reporter for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at dan.alexander@townsquaremedia.com

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