Help Save Dolphins Off the Jersey Shore - Call & Email Rutgers President Barchi Today!

Rutgers Ocean blasting study is back with vengeance, 26 times worse than originally proposed! If permitted, the Rutgers study can cause any act of pursuit, torment, or annoyance to 18,457 marine mammals, including over 12,500 bottlenose dolphins and their infant calves. This exponential increase should be shocking to Rutgers University, especially its researchers, faculty, President and Board of Trustees.  Rutgers should stop this study, now! Email Rutgers University President Barachi urging him to protect marine mammals, fisheries, and our coast by canceling the Rutgers seismic study! The relentless seismic blasts from the air-gun array at 246 decibels every 5-6 seconds, 24 hours a day for 30 days can cause serious harm. The newly issued Incidental Harassment Authorization by federal officials would allow the harassment of over 32 species, mostly bottlenose dolphins-including newborn calves, as well as endangered species  such as the northern right whale, humpback, sei, fin, blue and sperm whales. In addition, five species of endangered sea turtles will also be harmed including the Kemps Ridley-the rarest and most critically endangered!  For more detailed information on Level B Harassment and mammal takings please visit our Blog. Please help to save New Jersey marine life by calling and emailing Rutgers University President Barchi urging him to cancel the seismic study to avoid harm to marine mammals during peak summer months for migration and breeding! The 60 million year old rocks they are studying would still be there in January, when less marine life will be in the area.

Call and email Rutgers University President Barchi today! Call: 848-932-7454 Email: http://president.rutgers.edu/contact/send-message-president-barchi Sample Message for email: Dear President Barchi, I care about the ocean and marine life because ________________________________________ Please cancel the Rutgers University seismic study off the coast of Barnegat Inlet. The study would allow "any act of pursuit, torment, or annoyance" of 18,457 marine mammals, 26 times the amount proposed last year. This includes over 12,000 bottle nosed dolphin and their infant calves.   Rutgers must also be shocked at the level of harm; it is unconscionable and cannot be allowed.  The ocean blasting will also harm fishing, diving, and tourism activities, especially during the summer when marine life is at the peak of breeding and migrating.  Though there is no good time to conduct this study, during the winter less marine life would be threatened. I believe you should stop this study because ___________________________________________ Stop the study, now!  Thank you!

Sample Tweets: @RutgersU seismic study will harm of 18,457 marine mammals #RUserious urge RU to cancel the study #RUflippincrazy #saveNJMarineLife @RutgersU will blast the ocean at 246 decibels every 5-6 seconds, 24 hours a day for 30 days this summer #RUflippincrazy #SaveNJMarineLife 18,131 dolphins could be harmed during the @RutgersU seismic study. #RU flipping serious?! #RUflippincrazy #SaveNJMarineLife Call @RutgersU President Barchi urging him to cancel the seismic study #RUlflippincrazy #saveNJMarinelife  Help spread awareness by sharing and regraming our posts on social media!

Rutgers Study Set to Blast 26 Times More Marine Mammals

The newly issued Incidental Harassment Authorization (IHA) for the Rutgers seismic study is now 26 times worse than originally proposed! The Rutgers University study is allowed any act of pursuit, torment, or annoyance to 18,457 marine mammals including 18,321 dolphins and their infant calves. While the original numbers proposed in 2014 was 694! New Jersey elected officials are taking action to defend our ocean and marine life:

•    US Senator Booker wrote to Dr. Sullivan, administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, formally requesting that the National Marine Fisheries Service withdraw the IHA needed for the Rutgers seismic study to legally harass marine mammals and reopen the comment period so that concerned organizations and the public are given a meaningful opportunity to review this survey.
• ·         NJ Senate President Sweeney and US Representative Pallone, authored a letter directed to Rutgers University President Barchi, urging him cancel the study or, at minimum, schedule it for outside the peak summer months and revise the plans to be less harmful to marine life.
• ·         COA has written a letter to Rutgers University Board of Governor’s urging them to cancel the Rutgers seismic study, or alternatively conduct the study in the winter months when less life and livelihoods would be affected. We have also sent a letter to the National Marine Fisheries Service to requesting them to reopen the notice and comment period for the issued IHA.

The relentless seismic blasts from air-gun arrays at 246 decibels every 5-6 seconds, 24 hours a day for 30 days can cause serious harm to marine life.

• ·         Harassment of over 32 species, mostly bottlenose dolphins, 12,531,—including newborn calves.
• ·         6 endangered species such as the northern right whale, humpback, sei, fin, blue and sperm whales. 
• ·         5 species of endangered sea turtles including the Kemps Ridley—the most endangered sea turtle on the planet!
• ·         Studies show that fish can also be injured or scared off by seismic blasts.
• ·         Over 230 square miles of ocean will be impacted including prime fishing locations such as, The Fingers, Barnegat Ridge, The Lillian Wreck, and 28 Mile Wreck could be impacted. 

Airgun Blasting Risks Blasting Marine Mammal Populations

As soon as June 1st, Rutgers University intends to begin a seismic study approximately 15 miles off of the coast of Long Beach Island, New Jersey. The study has been approved by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), which has permitted the “takings” of 18,457 marine mammals— 26 times more mammals than originally proposed — during the 30-day research period so long as these incidents are classified as “Level B Harassment” under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. However, there is no scientific way to observe and assess all of the physical and physiological damage done to the populations of marine mammals to ensure that these damages do not surpass Level B Harassment into Level A Harassment.

According to the MMPA, Level B Harassment is defined as “any act of pursuit, torment, or annoyance which has the potential to disturb a marine mammal stock in the wild by causing disruption of behavioral patterns including, but not limited to, migration, breathing, nursing, breeding, feeding, and sheltering, but which does not have the potential to injure a marine mammal stock in the wild.” This means the marine mammals that frequent waters off of the New Jersey coast this time of year will experience meaningful disruption to “biologically significant” activities, including, ­but not limited to­, migration, breeding, care of young, predator avoidance or defense, and feeding.

“Biologically significant” can be widely interpreted, but would encompass anything that affects the ability of an animal to grow, survive, and reproduce. Essentially, NMFS has given Rutgers the approval to cause harm to marine mammals off of the New Jersey coast so long as it does not harm enough of the population to cause what they would consider a steep decline in their numbers. In a few cases, the mammals they have permitted takings of are already on the endangered species list, such as Sei Whales and North Atlantic Right Whales, just to name a few. Their identification as endangered means that these species have been categorized by the International Union for Conservation as likely to become extinct, meaning that they are second only to the most severe conservation status, “critically endangered.”

The takings have been termed “insignificant” by NMFS, but the numbers that were approved tell a different story. NMFS has authorized the take of five Sei whales, which would make up nearly 1.5% of the mammal’s stock. This number might not seem significant at first, but when you consider the Sei whale’s current status as endangered under the Endangered Species Act, this number is appalling. Harm to even one animal that has been identified as endangered can negatively impact the longevity of its entire population worldwide.

Approved Dolphin Takes and Overall Impact on Species Population
Species	Authorized Take	Percent of Species Stock
Bottlenose dolphins	12,532	16.16
Atlantic spotted dolphins	4,067	18.19
Risso’s dolphins	1,532	16.79

While the above table only shows the population and take numbers of three dolphin species, there are 29 more species that will be harmed, totaling 18,457 marine mammals including those dolphin species.  While the authorized torment of over 18,131 dolphins alone is unconscionable, this number becomes even more substantial when considering the recent morbillovirus that decimated bottlenose dolphin populations in the Atlantic, killing 1,660 dolphins between 2013 and 2015 alone. These dolphin populations, already in decline due to the devastating virus, will be put even more at risk after being subjected to unnecessary and inescapable airgun blasts during their peak mating season. The approved harassment numbers only get worse from there. The warm summer months are peak migration and mating times for marine mammals off of the coast of New Jersey, meaning that their populations will be even more heavily impacted than they would if these studies were conducted in the cooler winter months. 

Allowing for the harm, harassment, or torment of 18,457 marine mammals, 26 times more than proposed last year, is inexcusable. Please call or email Rutgers University President Barchi urging him to cancel the seismic study to avoid harm to marine mammals during peak summer months for migration and breeding.

Call: 848-932-7454

Email: http://president.rutgers.edu/contact/send-message-president-barchi

Join close to 20,000 concerned citizens opposing Rutgers Ocean blasting - sign our petition today!

http://stoprutgersoceanblasting.org/

Dolphins Found Washed up on Our Shore

Akira Suwa/ The Philadelphia Inquirer

Since July 9, 2013, there have been a total of 25 dolphin strandings along the Jersey Coast according to the Marine Mammal Stranding Center in Brigantine, NJ. Strandings have been reported along the Atlantic coastline with a total of 124 dolphins washing up along the shores (the majority in Virginia). Pneumonia has beenresponsible for four of the dolphin deaths while another tested positive for Morbillivirus, a measles-like virus.

While although pneumonia and Morbillivirus have been identified as causes, the overall cause of the deaths is unknown.  The Morbillivirus has been known to affectspecies of dolphins in the past 20 years with one notable event occurring inthe 1980s in which 742 dolphins presented with the virus.  This virus has been known to affect species of cetaceans off the coasts of Ireland, France, Italy, Greece, and Turkey.[1]

The macroscopic presentation of this disease involves deteriorating body condition along with prominent lesions on the lungs and central nervous tissues. The Morbillivirus also causes secondary infections, such as pneumonia, due to the “immune suppressive nature of the virus”.[2]  What is concerning most about Morbillivirus is how it is spread. Thevirus is capable of spreading through contact transmission between groups ofdolphins.

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection hasbeen informed of the deaths and has stated that there is no correlation betweenthe deaths and the water quality which “has been excellent this summer”.  Instead, it is an indication of a “natural disease cycle.”

The discoveries have led federal agency to declare anunusual mortality event for Bottlenose dolphins. This declaration will provide scientists with additional research funding in order to find the root cause of the deaths.

Perry Habecker, chief of large-animal pathology at the University of Pennsylvania, stated that “’human interaction’- such as aggressive commercial fishing, toxic wastes, and even plastic bags- can contribute to spikes of mortality in marine-mammal populations such as whales, seals and dolphins.”  But, for now, the primary cause of death has yet to be identified. Scientists will know more once they run diagnostic tests on tissue and blood samples.

How can you help? If you see a stranded dolphin, do not touch it. Alert local officials and keep pets away from the animal.

[1] Rubio-Guerri, Consuelo; Melero, Mar; Esperón, Fernando; Belliére, Edqige N.; Arbelo, Manuel; Crespo, Jose L.; Sierra, Eva; García-Párraga, Daniel; Sánchez-Vizcaíno, Jose M. 2013. Unusual striped dolphin mass mortality episode related to cetacean morbillivirus in the Spanish Mediterranean Sea, BMC Veterinary Research, 9:106.

[2] Reidarson, Thomas H.; McBain, Jim; House, Carol; King, Donald P.; Stott, Jeffrey L.; Krafft, Amy; Taubenberger, Jeffrey K.; Heyning, John; Lipscomb, Thomas P. 1998. Morbillivirus Infection in Stranded Common Dolphins from the Pacific Ocean. Journal of Wildlife Diseases. 34(4) 771-776.