29 dead dolphins found since oil spill

A dolphin swims off the bow of the 1877 tall ship Elissa as it heads into the Gulf in March. Dozens of dolphins have been found dead after last month's oil spill in Galveston Bay. A dolphin swims off the bow of the 1877 tall ship Elissa as it heads into the Gulf in March. Dozens of dolphins have been found dead after last month's oil spill in Galveston Bay. Photo: Brett Coomer, Staff Photo: Brett Coomer, Staff Image 1 of / 92 Caption Close 29 dead dolphins found since oil spill 1 / 92 Back to Gallery

GALVESTON - Scientists are trying to determine whether an oil spill two weeks ago in Galveston Bay contributed to a higher-than-normal number of dolphin deaths.

At least 29 dead dolphins have been found in the Galveston area since a ship and barge collided, spilling nearly 168,000 gallons of thick oil into Galveston Bay. The number brought the total for March to 47, above the average of 34 dolphin strandings for the month and triple last years' total of 15, said Heidi Whitehead, state operations coordinator for the Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network.

Testing will needed to determine what role, if any, oil played in the dolphin deaths. But it is certain that oil is affecting hundreds of birds, and the numbers appear to be increasing, said Richard Gibbons, Houston Audubon conservation director.

Nesting season began April 1 for the endangered Kemp's ridley sea turtle, the Texas state sea turtle, but unusually cold weather appears to have kept them and green sea turtles away and out of harms way, said Ben Higgins, sea turtle program manager for the National Marine Fisheries Service.

A high number of dead dolphins are typically found during what is known as the stranding season from January through March, Whitehead said. But the oil spill has caused so much concern that more resources and effort than normal are being devoted to the investigation into the dolphin deaths, she said. Biologists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are assisting the Stranding Network, she said.

"Even though we cannot definitely say that oil has caused this increase in the number of strandings, we can say there is concern and will be concern and that is why we are increasing our level of investigation," Whitehead said.

Help from 2 states

Of those stranded, two have been confirmed to have oil on their bodies and two are being tested for possible oil, she said. Two of the visibly oiled dolphins were found near Matagorda Island, where oil blown out of Galveston Bay and into the Gulf of Mexico washed ashore six days after the spill. The two were among nine stranded dolphins found on the island, said Blair Mase, NOAA's southeast marine mammal stranding network coordinator.

Mase said four NOAA biologists had been sent from labs in Mississippi and Florida to assist the Texas stranding network, but only one remained in Galveston as of Friday.

Determining whether any dolphins ingested oil could take weeks or months, Whitehead said.

Most of the dolphins were found in Galveston and Brazoria counties, but one was found in Harris County, she said. The most recent finds were Wednesday, when four were found. She said several also had been found on Matagorda Island, where oil drifted from Galveston Bay.

One possibility is that dolphins that otherwise would not have been found are being discovered because of the large number of personnel working along the coast to clean up oil that has washed ashore, Whitehead said. The Stranding Network typically relies on the public to report stranded dolphins, but some 1,500 people are involved in cleanup operations and they are finding dolphin bodies in places never frequented by the public, she said.

Even if the oil does not kill the dolphins immediately, it could cause health problems for the mammals in the long run.

"Long-term chronic effects can also happen," Whitehead said. "It's going to be something we are going to be investigating for a long time following this event."

More oiled birds

Gibbons, the Audubon conservation director, said officials had expected the number of oiled birds to dwindle as time went on, but instead the numbers appear to be increasing. The number of affected species has climbed to 20, including the endangered Piping plover. Especially troubling are the numbers of marsh birds spotted with oil on them, indicating that oil has seeped into the environmentally sensitive marshland. So far, the Unified Command, which comprises agencies that responded to the spill, has not reported oil entering the marshland.

"I don't know where it is in the marsh, but we are seeing some marsh birds that have been oiled," Gibbons said. He said that determining how many birds had been oiled is difficult, but a single volunteer on Galveston Island counted 300. The Unified Command is capturing oiled birds and taking them to be cleaned at a rehabilitation facility in Bay City, but most of the birds cannot be caught.

So far 258 oiled birds have been recovered, only eight of them alive, said U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Steve Lehmann. Three were released Friday, he said.

Higgins said two dead Kemp's ridleys had been found, one on Galveston Island and one on Matagorda Island, both very decomposed. Thirteen dead and five living green turtles were found stranded in the Galveston area.