NOAA Is Offering $20,000 For Info On Who Shot This Dolphin

or reasons that are unclear, a dolphin has been shot dead at a beach in Cameron Parish, Louisiana. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Office of Law Enforcement is now on the hunt for the perpetrator and is offering a reward of up to $20,000 for information leading to a criminal conviction.

The juvenile bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) was found dead on March 13 along the shores of West Mae’s Beach a few miles from the Sabine Pass Lighthouse, according to an NOAA statement.

Scientists carried out a necropsy of the animal, revealing several bullets lodged in its brain, spinal cord, and heart. By no surprise, it appears the dolphin died as a result of this trauma. 

Harassing, harming, killing, or even feeding wild dolphins is prohibited under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972. Breaking this law can land people with up to $100,000 in fines and up to one year in jail per violation.

Anyone with information about the incident on West Mae’s Beach is urged to call the NOAA Enforcement Hotline at (800) 853-1964. If the information leads to a criminal conviction or the assessment of a civil penalty, members of the public could receive a reward of up to $20,000. Tips can be left anonymously, although you’ll need to provide your identity if you wish to claim the reward. 

Approximate location of the dolphin carcass, Cameron Parish, Louisiana.

Image credit: NOAA Fisheries

Sadly, this isn’t the first time such an incident has occurred in the US. In 2020, two dolphins washed up in Florida with gruesome injuries caused by a gun or a sharp weapon. The NOAA said at the time that at least 29 other dolphins had washed up in the Southeast US since 2002, often with unusual injuries that appear to be inflicted with a weapon. 

The reason for the attacks was unclear. However, some speculated the rising number of malicious attacks was linked to people attempting to feed the dolphins. This leads to dolphins associating people or boats with a meal, raising the chances of an unfortunate run-in with humans, whether that’s a boat collision or an act of violence. Dolphins are also known to steal bycatch, leading to tensions with fishermen that can erupt into violence.

Globally, common bottlenose dolphins are designated as “Least Concern” on the IUCN Red List, meaning there is currently little risk they will fall into extinction. However, they do face a myriad of threats, including entanglement in fishing nets, ocean pollution, habitat loss, and climate change.