NOAA Fisheries has reported that bottlenose dolphin strandings were over seven times the historical average during the month of July in the Mid-Atlantic region. Under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (as amended), an Unusual Mortality Event (UME) has been declared for bottlenose dolphins in the Mid-Atlantic region from early July 2013 through the present. Elevated strandings of bottlenose dolphins have occurred in New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia.
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