dead dolphin...a disturbing picture, but it needs to be seen.
In the summer of 1987, an alarming number of bottlenose dolphins were washing up on the shores of New Jersey, in the United States, dead or dying. By the spring of 1988, a total of 750 dead dolphins had been washed ashore from New Jersey to Florida. Scientists have estimated that more than half the population of the Atlantic Coast dolphins died during this brief period.

As soon as it heard of this occurrence, NOAA (The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) organized a team of scientists and governmental agencies to find the cause of the die-off. At first, the team decided that the dolphins had died as a result of bacterial infections, although the team could not decide why the dolphins' immune systems had been weakened so much that they could not fight off the mysterious infections.

On February 1, 1989, NOAA announced that the dolphins had been poisoned by eating fish which had been tainted with a naturally occurring toxin caused by "red-tide algae".

A "red tide" happens when a combination of environmental factors occur naturally. High levels of nutrients, the right amount of sunlight, combined with the right water temperature and salt levels provide the right conditions for a "red tide". Phytoplankton, a one-celled organism, experience a tremendous growth when these environmental factors align, causing a discoloration of the water, making it appear to be red. One of the species of phytoplankton known to excel during a red tide period is Ptychodiscus brevis, which makes a toxin known as brevetoxin, and according to NOAA, it was this toxin which poisoned the fish, which, in turn, poisoned the dolphins. According to NOAA, the dolphins who did not die immediately from eating the tainted fish, were weakened enough to fall to other infections.

Several doubts arose around these findings. For one, red-tides occur frequently in the Gulf of Mexico, where it is warm almost year round. There has never been a die-off such as this one reported there. Also, brevetoxin was found in only 8 of the 15 dolphins tested, and the effects of brevetoxin have never clinically been proven.

In May of 1989, the U.S. Congress held a special panel to study NOAA's reports, due to public doubt surrounding the "answer" NOAA had given. Among the members of the board were several scientists and veterinarians. Many felt that PCBs had been the cause of the dolphin deaths.

The PCB levels in the dead dolphins were among the highest ever recorded. The levels ranged from 13 ppm to 620 ppm. One dolphin had 6,800 ppm. (As a point of reference - products are required to be labelled as hazardous/toxic waste if they contain ***5***ppm of PCBs). It has long been proven that PCBs cause skin lesions, nervous, reproductive, digestive, and immune systems damage in mammals.

The U.S. government was overly anxious to avoid any implication of PCBs in the dolphins' deaths. In a memo which was somehow leaked out, and read at the Congressional hearing, one government scientist asked another for "data generated on PCB/pesticides." He also said that no matter what was found in the dead dolphins, "no special attention will be drawn to these data...a blanket statement will be made that the levels were not out of the ordinary".

According to a Dutch marine mammal scientist, Dr. Peter Reijnders, only one per cent of the world's PCBs have reached the world's oceans. ONLY ONE PER CENT!!! An additional 40-50 per cent is likely to make its way there in the future. Dolphins are at the top of the marine food chain, and their health is an indication of the condition of the entire aquatic environment. Perhaps the dolphin die-off was a sign that, after decades of over exploitation and abuse, the marine ecosystem simply can't take any more.