Probe continues into the hundreds of dead dolphins washed up on Peruvian beaches

February 17, 2012 – PERU – At least 264 dead bottlenose dolphins have washed ashore over a stretch of Peru’s northern coast, officials said as they seek to discover what killed the marine animals. The dead dolphins were found over a 103 km stretch of sandy beach, Edward Barriga, an official with Peru’s Oceanic Institute, said. “We have taken samples to determine the cause of death,” said Mr. Barriga, speaking from the city of Lambayeque, adding that vast quantities of dead anchovies had also been found in the region. The dolphins may have been killed by the impact of off-shore oil exploration and drilling in the region, said Carlos Yaipen with ORCA, a non-governmental group that focuses on helping ocean creatures in the South Pacific. The mass dolphin deaths are a “very serious” issue, Mr. Yaipen said. The head of a Lambayeque group representing aqua-farmers, Jorge Cabrejos, said the anchovies appeared to have eaten contaminated plankton, which then sickened the dolphins that ate the small fish. Thirty-four of the world’s 81 cetacean species are found off the Peruvian shores, 17 of which are dolphins. Of those, the most common is the bottlenose dolphin. –NT News

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