A tragic discovery in Blount's Creek is prompting wildlife officials to issue an urgent warning to local fishermen.
The North Carolina Aquarium Marine Mammal Stranding Team recently recovered the body of a bottlenose dolphin, and a necropsy revealed the dolphin, which was estimated to be more than fifty years old, died with a sharp fishing lure painfully wedged inside its throat.
Experts say the tragedy serves as a harsh reminder of how discarded or lost fishing gear can devastate marine life.
Beachgoers and boaters who spot a stranded marine mammal are urged to immediately call the state’s twenty-four-hour stranding hotline.
