The Nation - News from Aug. 3, 1987

The number of dead bottlenose dolphins washing up on mid-Atlantic beaches neared 100. Two more dolphins were discovered along the southern New Jersey coast, bringing the state’s dolphin death toll since early July to 40, said Robert Schoelkopf, director of the Marine Mammal Stranding Center in Brigantine, N.J. Other observers along the Atlantic coast as far south as Virginia have counted the deaths of at least 56 other dolphins since July 6. Autopsies on the mammals have shown a buildup of fluid in the lungs, but Schoelkopf said researchers do not know the cause. He estimated there was a “50% chance” the animals’ lungs were burned by a chemical they breathed.