Dolphins' visit to Buttonwoods Cove raises concerns

By Josh Faiola
Posted 7/6/17

JOSH FAIOLA Sharing the same water space with dolphins is usually thought of as a pleasant experience, but that was not the case Saturday, July 1 at Buttonwoods Cove off City Park Beach. Carl Santucci, who happened to be in the area taking pictures,

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Dolphins' visit to Buttonwoods Cove raises concerns

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Sharing the same water space with dolphins is usually thought of as a pleasant experience, but that was not the case Saturday, July 1 at Buttonwoods Cove off City Park Beach.

Carl Santucci, who happened to be in the area taking pictures, said it was a “decent morning, with few people on the shore.” He noticed a commotion by the tide line, where he saw two dolphins appear to be struggling, with one of them upside down. The water was rough, and he was not sure if the dolphins were trying to beach themselves or were possibly caught in the undertow of the water. He said that there was one man “actively trying to push them back in the [deeper] water.” Santucci took video footage of the incident on his phone and hopes to post it to the Pawtuxet River Authority & Watershed Council and Echo R.I News websites, where he is a board member of both organizations. He said this does not make him an expert in marine biology, but he estimated the dolphins to be between 8 to 10 feet.

“I didn’t realize dolphins had such big tailfins,” he said. “At first I thought it might have been a shark.” A 911 call was made and a city fire truck arrived at the scene to assist, but the dolphins had left by the time they had arrived. Michael Jarbeau, Narragansett Baykeeper of Save the Bay, was contacted Wednesday about the situation. He said, “generally speaking, there isn’t anything unusual about dolphins being in Narragansett Bay. They frequently come up to the bay to feed.” Jarbeau urged, “If a dolphin was floating upside down in shallow enough water for people to wade out, it probably wasn’t 100 percent healthy. A healthy dolphin [or any large marine mammal] wouldn’t struggle with the undertow or currents experience in Narragansett Bay.”

“In these cases, the best bet is to call the NOAA’s Marine Mammal response network,” said Jarbeau. “They are trained to identify signs of distressed marine mammals, including dolphins, and have a network of local responders who can verify issues and assist the animals if necessary.” Mystic Aquarium is the stranding coordinator for Rhode Island. Jarbeau also said that under the Marine Mammal Protection act, certain interactions with marine mammals are illegal, regardless of the witness’s good intentions. He does not want to discourage people from reporting or trying to help, but it is recommended by the NOAA to stay at least 150 feet away from dolphins in the wild, and wait for the experts to arrive. For future stranding or distress calls, contact Mystic Aquarium at 860-572-5955. The aquarium did not respond to calls for this story.

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  • jodetz

    Interesting story. The news website referred to as "Echo R.I News" in this article is incorrect. It should be ecoRI News. Thank you.

    Thursday, July 6, 2017 Report this