Dolphins on the Navesink River, NJ - 2008, menhaden, bunker - Dave Grant - Brookdale College Ocean Institute, Sandy Hook, NJ 07732

Dolphins January 3, 2009
Dolphins have not been sighted since New Year's Day
and we are hoping they are moving downriver as the cooler upstream waters move in...
and to the ocean where there are more fish!

Dolphins on the Navesink! - 2008
Dave Grant - Ocean Institute, NJ 07732

7/18/08 - Day-Thirty into the 2008 dolphin "crisis" - NBC makes a visit.

They have negotiated the dreaded July 4 boat traffic, but will these wandering celebrities somehow survive the "stress" of living upriver??? Can media coverage save them??? OMG!!!!	The usual assortment of waterfront "experts" and local gadflies, ponder the question: Why are they here??? Overheard on the docks: "They are fleeing the noise from the bridge construction...and vibrations from the current flowing through the pilings." "They are trapped and poisoned by the runoff from the big lawns on those Rumson estates." "They're starving!" "It's the disgraceful behavior of those jet-skiers - just look at them!" "It's the Navy and their experiments. Whenever I sail near the EARLE Pier the bars on my cell phone disappear!" And of course, the (new) old standby: "Global Warming."

Proposed solutions abound from various experts, locals and suspiciously rigid tavern patrons : "Net them and return them to the ocean where they belong." "Line up boats to drive them to where they can 'smell' the ocean." "Play ORCA calls underwater to scare them back to the sea." "They'll leave after they eat all the big stripers." "Just leave them alone."	NBC's Lester Holt on dolphin watch with Ocean Institute Director and media hound Dave.

	Intrepid kyakers struggle to keep up with fleeing dolphins as they try to feed on a school of fishes.

Another fish-eater, the cormorant, flees the commotion, as the boat-rental dolphin watching and harassing business flourishes.

	IMPORTANT: Feeding, chasing and interfering with dolphins and other marine mammals is illegal. (LEFT) Tail-slapping is a form of dolphin communication and some researchers think it may indicate frustration or territorial behavior.

Meanwhile, the smartest animals in the sea, oblivious to all the excitement they are causing, happily cruise the Navesink and Shrewsbury rivers, enjoying the great abundance of menhaden this year.	The menhaden, mossbunker, "bunker" or "pogy" (Brevoortia tyrannus) is particularly abundant in the summer and has had an exceptional spawning year.