Dolphins rescued

Press, 18 March 1982, Page 1

Dolphins rescued

A helicopter (pictured) was used to rescue 21 dolphins which were stranded on mud flats at Delaware Bay, Nelson, by a falling tide yesterday morningAbout 100 people helped to rescue the dolphins, reports the Press Association.... The dolphins entered Delaware Bay on the high tide in the early hours of the morning but were left high and dry as the tide receded. A farmer, Mr Dennis Richardson, first noticed their plight about 6 a.m. He alerted the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries and soon a full-scale community rescue was under way. The Ministry organised the helicopter to fly the dolphins, carried in a sling under the aircraft, to the sea. To keep the dolphins alive until the helicopter could lift them out, pits were dug under them in which puddles formed.

Scores of people helped to

roll the dolphins upright and cover them with sacks. A resident of the area, Mr Ken Weaver, said that some of the dolphins weighed up to a tonne,and that two or three men had been needed to move them.

“Fortunately it was cloudy this morning, but even so, it took, a lot of work to keep them wet,” he said.

A bucket chain was formed to carry Water to the dolphins. They were carried one at a time to another group of people waiting waist-deep in the sea about 500 m away.

Once in the sea, the dolphins recovered immediately and swam away.