- WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT
The butchered remains of a dolphin have been discovered on a New Jersey Beach.
Federal authorities were called to the scene in Allenhurst, finding the animal’s flesh had been ‘completely removed with clean cuts from a sharp instrument, leaving only the head, dorsal fin and flukes.’
The dolphin’s organs, except for the heart and lungs, had been also been removed.
The Marine Mammal Stranding Center released a disturbing image of the mutilated carcass lying on a metal gurney before it was carried away for an investigation, hoping to find the culprit.
The creature was identified as a common dolphin, which is not listed as threatened or endangered.
However, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is investigating the death that would result in up to $100,000 plus one year imprisonment if the culprit is caught.
Federal authorities have opened a criminal investigation into the death of a dolphin found on a beach. The animal’s flesh had been ‘completely removed with clean cuts from a sharp instrument’
The night before the grisly discovery, a common dolphin was reportedly struggling in the surf a block away, according to the stranding center.
Witnesses said the dolphin was able to make it over a sandbar and swam out to sea. It is not known whether the dolphin that was butchered was the same animal, the Marine Mammal Stranding Center said.
The animal’s carcass was taken to the stranding center and ‘thoroughly’ photographed and documented, the group said.
New Jersey experienced its third-highest number of stranded dolphins in the past two decades last year, with 54 in total found along the shores.
That was more than 50 percent higher than the annual median of 35 deaths since 2002
NOAA reported the likely cause of the deaths were due to cetacean morbillivirus, which is similar to measles in humans and canine distemper in dogs.
Even though the common dolphin is not considered an endangered species, the animal is protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
That means it is illegal to kill and consume dolphin meat in the US.
Common dolphins are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, making it illegal to kill or eat the animal
New Jersey experienced a similar death in February when another dead dolphin appeared on the beach.
The marine animal was spotted on February 19, as it laid on the sands of Avalon bleeding from its eye and a gaping hole along its mouth.
However, locals pointed to sonar blasting from an offshore wind that was said to be mapping the area.
Evidence has shown that when exposed to high sonar frequencies, marine mammals swim hundreds of miles and rapidly change their depth, which can cause bleeding from the eyes and ears.
Bonnie Brady, executive director at Long Island Commercial Fishing Association, told DailyMail.com that the marine animal was a short-beaked common dolphin, which can be found along the continental slope in waters between 650 to 6,500 feet deep.
She noted that it is very rare that this type of dolphin would be found close to the beach.
Jamie Steiert, an Avalon local, spotted the dead dolphin on the beach.
‘NJ conservation officer picked it up while I was there and said he was meeting up with the Marine Mammal Stranding Center,’ Steiert told DailyMail.com.
‘I hear they are already saying the dolphin was scavenged. We have been asking consistently to prove that there is no hearing damage but we are always shut out.’
The only way to determine whether a marine animal died due to sonar is to perform a necropsy and analyze the ear bone for damage.