A rare “super pod” of Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins has recently gathered off the coast of Panama City, Florida. The number of dolphins is approximately tenfold the population that is typical for this area at this time of year. There are up to 1000 dolphins estimated in the super pod!

Atlantic bottlenose dolphins do not congregate in super pods under normal conditions. Only when extreme external forces are at work do they come together in such large groups, to look for food and/or seek a safe habitat.

The amassing of a super pod of this magnitude is an absolute aberration and a sure sign that something is wrong in the Gulf of Mexico. It appears that the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill has altered the Gulf’s ecosystem to the extent that these extraordinarily large numbers of dolphins, along with their newborn calves, are now gathering in the Panama City area to forage for food. This could also potentially upset the balance of local fish stocks.

A phenomenon such as this requires NMFS’ immediate attention. Five years after the BP DWH oil spill, animals are telling us that the Gulf of Mexico remains seriously compromised. Over four million barrels of oil spewed into the Gulf in the worst environmental disaster in US history. Nearly two million gallons of chemical dispersant were then pumped into the Gulf. Such a massive amount of oil and dispersant could not enter into a mostly landlocked and closed system like the Gulf of Mexico and not profoundly change its ecology.

Moreover, the oil dispersant used on the oil spill was arguably as bad as, or worse than, the oil itself. The dispersant merely emulsified the oil, which made it sink to the bottom of the Gulf. There, the oil and all of the chemicals of the dispersant congealed into a toxic mass--a chemical cocktail recipe for disaster.

The recent peer-reviewed NMFS research document, which contains findings confirming that the oil is doing harm, i.e., causing health problems and diseases in dolphins, suggests beyond any reasonable doubt that the BP DWH oil spill disaster is continuing to impact all marine life in the Gulf and surrounding topography. A large, multi-year cetacean unusual mortality event (UME) has been ongoing in the northern Gulf  since 2010, continuing into 2014. Toxic tar balls continue to wash ashore. These findings are as irrefutable as they are alarming. It is time to face the fact that there is a serious environmental problem brewing in the Gulf of Mexico. The time has come to determine how to help the ecology best rebound from this massive man-made disaster.

We are therefore petitioning NMFS’ regional office to request that it demonstrate administrative oversight by immediately investigating, tracking and monitoring the “Super Pod” off Panama City. We are also petitioning your office to request that you take all necessary steps to prepare for a worst-case scenario, which could involve increased dolphin stranding, to avert a tragedy of epic proportions.

(http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0126538l)