© Hubbs-SeaWorld Research InstituteDolphins are dying in the Indian River Lagoon. Today, the federal government announced that it will help investigate the cause.
At least 54 bottlenose dolphins have died mysteriously in Florida's Indian River Lagoon since January. Today, the federal government is stepping in to help find out what's killing them.
In a normal year, that number would be closer to 22.
On July 24, NOAA declared the mass die-off an "
Unusual Mortality Event" - a declaration that will send federal resources and scientists to help teams already on the ground in Florida. It's the lagoon's worst dolphin die-off on record, and the cause is mysterious.
"This has become a national investigation, instead of a local investigation," said
Megan Stolen, a marine biologist with
Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute, the nonprofit organization that has been investigating and keeping track of the dolphin deaths so far. "This will definitely help us."
It's the second time this year that NOAA has declared an Unusual Mortality Event for marine mammals in the lagoon, a 156-mile-long estuary that runs along Florida's Atlantic coast. In April, a
mass manatee die-off received the same designation.
This is the third time a UME has been declared for dolphins in the lagoon. What caused the others, in 2001 and 2008, is still a mystery.
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