Dolphins of Perdido Bay -- Escaping the Oil

Perdido Bay, on the boarder of Alabama and Florida has been breached by the oil. Booms failed, again. Booms aren't manned, again. And the tides bring more and more oil deeper and deeper into the bay. And we will soon be inundated with images of more habitats coated in brown, smothering, toxic oil. It would seem this scene is becoming all too familiar. But in this case there is an added, pending tragedy. Reports are coming in that dolphins are seeking refuge in the bay; a bay where they are known to calve. And one report says more animals arrive daily.

NBC News - Dolphins Beached at Gulf Shores

Robin Vircsik, a local teacher, reached out to the on-line community with the following information:

"My kindergarten class and I are following the dolphins of Perdido Bay for our science project. I have been speaking with Capt. Lori DeAngelis in Orange Beach, AL about these dolphins. According to Lori as the oil comes further into the bay, the dolphins retreat north. Soon, they will have nowhere to go. Today, Saturday, June 12, oil is visible to the human eye in Perdido Bay. Also, 20-30 new dolphins appear each day.

Booms have been placed along the Bay, but they have not been changed out for 2 weeks and are no longer holding oil like they should. Boats are allowed in and out of Perdido Pass; all of the boats are carrying oil contamination on them. Local government officials will not close the pass; according to Lori there is another waterway and all the boats could simply "go around the pass" and Perdido Bay could be closed with the hopes of saving the dolphins.

Local government officials have asked Lori to "stand down" in regards to saving the dolphins. Perdido Bay is known as the "nursery of the gulf." Dolphins that live in the area come to the Bay to give birth to their babies.

Certainly some type of evacuation plan is needed for the dolphins or some type of machine should be placed at Perdido Pass to clean the oily water. Also, with all those dolphins retreating to the safest area they know, the nursery, the food supply is not going to be sufficient. Any help is much appreciated."

Please help Captain Lori, Robin Vircsik and her students and the dolphins they care about. Contact these officials to ask for a timely response -- close the pass, man the booms, and relocate any threatened dolphins if necessary. Thank you.

Mayor, Orange Beach AL: Tony Kennon at tkennon@cityoforangebeach.com
Unified Command Wildlife Distress Hotline: 866-557-1401
NOAA's Alabama Stranding Hotline: 888-767-3657
Your Congressional Representative: https://writerep.house.gov/
AL Congressman Jo Bonner: 251-943-2073‎
FL Congressman Jeff Miller: 850-479-1183

Information about this situation kindly provided by Kirk Krack 
of Performance Free-Diving and OPS. ‎