Community Corner
Dolphin Found In Woodbridge Creek Has Died
Onlookers said they witnessed an eight-food dolphin strand itself Friday morning in the area of Alvin P. Williams Park in Woodbridge:
WOODBRIDGE, NJ — The dolphin that became stranded in a marshy creek in Woodbridge last week has died.
This is according to Sheila Dean, the executive director of the Marine Mammal Stranding Center, the non-profit agency that is directed by the state to respond and pick up marine mammals anytime they die or become stranded in New Jersey.
Onlookers — who shared photos of the incident on the Sewaren History Facebook page — said they witnessed an eight-foot dolphin strand itself Friday morning in the area of Alvin P. Williams Park in Woodbridge.
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The dolphin became stuck in a muddy and marshy tributary creek that runs off the Arthur Kill. Woodbridge Police cars responded Friday morning to block off the scene and keep people away from the dolphin, as they are federally protected and it is actually a federal crime to touch a dolphin.
Witnesses said it appeared to be stuck in the mud.
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The Port Reading Fire Department, along with the New Jersey Division of Fish & Game, also responded to the creek, said a Woodbridge Twp. spokesman.
According to Dean, employees with her agency responded, and retrieved the dolphin from the creek. The dolphin was in bad shape when they pulled it from the water, she said.
"It was examined Friday by a veterinarian; all I know is that he found it to be in bad shape. Whether it died or he made the decision to euthanize it, I do not know off the top of my head," she said.
A second dolphin became stranded in New Jersey Friday, and that was in the Stone Harbor/Wildwood area, she said. That dolphin also died.
The federal government confirmed there has been an increase in dolphin and whale deaths along the Jersey Shore — NOAA calls it an "Unusual Mortality Event" — but scientists said they are not sure what is causing it.
From NJ.com: Dead dolphin found on N.J. beach, bringing total to 25 since late December, officials say (April 2023)
From the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA): 2016–2023 Humpback Whale Unusual Mortality Event Along the Atlantic Coast
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