Baby Dolphin Dead After FL Man Picked It Up For Photo: Reports

NASSAU SOUND, FL — A baby dolphin may have died after a man in Florida picked it up for a controversial social media photo, according to multiple reports.

The photo, first reported by News4Jax in Jacksonville, was taken by a 19-year-old man who told the station he was fishing with friends in Nassau Sound when he spotted a juvenile bottlenose dolphin in the surf.

“We tried to see if it was still alive, or if we could revive it,” the man told Action News Jax. “There was nothing we could do.”

The man and his group then took a photo of him holding the baby dolphin and later posted it online, reports said. The man has not been identified because authorities have not charged him with a crime.

Dr. Quincy Gibson, an associate professor of coastal and marine biology at the University of North Florida, told News4Jax the photo looked like it was taken under a bridge that crosses Nassau Sound, where a dead baby dolphin was later found by a biologist. A Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission report shared with Gibson also confirmed the discovery of a dead 1-year-old male calf in Nassau County.

Gibson told News4Jax it was hard to tell if the dolphin was dead in the photo. If it was, it hadn't been dead for long, she told the station. She also said most of her colleagues agreed the dolphin found was the same one in the photo because of its dorsal fin.

“The shape matches the one in the photo where the dolphin's being held...so highly likely,” Gibson told News4Jax.

Dolphins are among several species protected under the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act, which prohibits U.S. citizens from harassing, hunting, capturing, collecting or killing them in U.S. waters. If prosecuted, violators face civil penalties up to $34,457, in addition to 1 year in prison and criminal fines.

According to experts, dolphins rely on buoyancy to breathe. If removed from the water, it becomes difficult for a dolphin to breathe. Sometimes, it result in them being crushed by the weight of their own bodies.

In a statement to Action News Jax, authorities with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration confirmed they are “actively investigating this incident.”

After the photo surfaced, some Florida residents and fishermen expressed their ire with the situation.

Jacksonville resident Kevin Beaugrand told WESH the picture was shared to a surfing account on Instagram, but has since been deleted.

“I was immediately enraged,” Beaugrand told the station. “It’s a crime against nature."

Fisherman Anthony Walker told News4Jax that people should know not to mess with dolphins.

“When you break the law, you’ve got consequences,” Walker told the station. “That's what the law made for.”

Amid the backlash, the man who took the photo has since apologized.

“I’m sorry,” he told Action News Jax. “And I didn’t mean to hurt anyone. And I did not hurt the dolphin. I wasn’t aware that I wasn’t supposed to touch it. And I would never do it again.”

The best way to help marine life in trouble, according to authorities is to call trained responders, report your location and wait near the animal. Call 800-853-1864 to report injured or dead marine life or use NOAA's Dolphin and Whale 911 phone app.