Dolphin Stuck in the Gowanus Canal BK,NY

[MetDude]

For those unaware,
The gowanus canal is so polluted that rescuers cant go in it to help.

first spotted just before low tide a few hours ago, water is likely to shallow atm for it to find its way back to sea.
high tide is still a few hours away.

Injured dolphin stranded in Brooklyn?s Gowanus Canal  - NY Daily News

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/26/ny...anal.html?_r=0

[natbornkiller]

snowflake.................noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

[fullmetal]

Did the author mean anal canal? Brooklyn's Anal Canal?

Why did she put a dolphin in there?

[MetDude]

Originally Posted by natbornkiller

snowflake.................noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

I dont know the reference.

I live and work in Park Slope.
3 or 4 helicopters have been hovering all afternoon.
Was worried there was another idiot trying to blow up the 4th avenue subway line

[fullmetal]

Why don't they net it?

The article states that rescurers won't enter the water due to chemical pollution. Don't they have a john boat? Or even throw a rope-net from above and haul it out.

Brains must be frozen.

[natbornkiller]

[MetDude]

Originally Posted by fullmetal

Why don't they net it?

The article states that rescurers won't enter the water due to chemical pollution. Don't they have a john boat? Or even throw a rope-net from above and haul it out.

Brains must be frozen.

Good question on the rope net.

[mwheeler27]

I know nothing about this canal, so I'm confused about something...

If that water is so toxic that people don't want to go near it, how was the dolphin able to get in there in the first place? Surely it's not attached to the ocean where toxic waste is able to float away freely, is it?

[MetDude]

Originally Posted by mwheeler27

I know nothing about this canal, so I'm confused about something...

If that water is so toxic that people don't want to go near it, how was the dolphin able to get in there in the first place? Surely it's not attached to the ocean where toxic waste is able to float away freely, is it?

yes it is connected to gowanus bay and from there to upper NY harbor
(just southeast of governors island) and from there to the ocean.
the dolphin is near the Union Street bridge.
the canal only goes inland for about another 2 or 3 blocks.

map
https://maps.google.com/maps?q=gowan...ed=0CAsQ_AUoAA

Supposedly the EPA made this a priority superfund site about 3 years ago.

Gowanus Canal - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[VWBUS1978]

Originally Posted by mwheeler27

I know nothing about this canal, so I'm confused about something...

If that water is so toxic that people don't want to go near it, how was the dolphin able to get in there in the first place? Surely it's not attached to the ocean where toxic waste is able to float away freely, is it?

yes, for the most part every river, canal, and tributary ends up in the ocean.

i am very familiar with the environmental field, as i work for a clean-up company. let's just say i have seen almost everything you'll ever wanna see as far as dirt and contamination. we work with mostly fuel oil/gasoline/dry cleaners/refineries/airports/military bases.

let's just say the ocean is the world's largest public dump.
lucky for mankind, it is also it's largest filter.

only plastics really have an adverse effect on the ecosystem. BUT all congregate in two seperate oceans. pesticides/herbicides/fertilizers also have adverse effects, but they do dissapate and get absorbed.

in the Pacific there is a huge mass of plastic (about the size of texas) just sitting in open water. a smaller one in the Atlantic.

[XL5]

Originally Posted by VWBUS1978

in the Pacific there is a huge mass of plastic (about the size of texas) just sitting in open water. a smaller one in the Atlantic.

Just to dispell the common myth, it's not an actual mass of plastic floating out there, it is an extremely high concentration of very small pieces (millimeter or smaller) of plastic in the water. There is a small amount of larger debris, like nets, but mostly it is not visible at the surface.

Marine Debris Program - Marine Debris Info

[cdizz]

I know nothing of the area except for the pics and info in the article, but I can't believe how close they were to it and couldn't figure a way to get it out. I't not like it was trapped under something. I get that its in some nasty water, but damn no john boat or nets handy? If you have 4 helicopters flying around, you would think they could have put something together.

[My-Coolectibles]

The dolphin is dead.
In 2007, a whale made it into the same canal. It was nicknamed Sludgie the whale.

[natbornkiller]

Originally Posted by My-Coolectibles

The dolphin is dead.
In 2007, a whale made it into the same canal. It was nicknamed Sludgie the whale.

no sludgie was a carvel cake

[MetDude]

Originally Posted by cdizz

I know nothing of the area except for the pics and info in the article, but I can't believe how close they were to it and couldn't figure a way to get it out. I't not like it was trapped under something. I get that its in some nasty water, but damn no john boat or nets handy? If you have 4 helicopters flying around, you would think they could have put something together.

I dont understand that as well,

Best guess is that the water is SO polluted that a typical net attached to winch would spray to much water around the vicnity and that everyone involved would need extreme biohazard suits.

Originally Posted by My-Coolectibles

The dolphin is dead.
In 2007, a whale made it into the same canal. It was nicknamed Sludgie the whale.

Yep Sludgie died too.
Strangely another one of those whales was supposedly seen there recently.

[JohnAndrew]

Originally Posted by My-Coolectibles

The dolphin is dead.
In 2007, a whale made it into the same canal. It was nicknamed Sludgie the whale.

Awful news.

On a slightly different note, dolphins continue to be slaughtered in the Japanese town on Taiji for their meat -- more than 20,000 a year. They are herded by large groups of fishermen and driven into coves that they can't escape from.

This is what the aftermath looks like on a typical day...do NOT click if you are easily upset: http://www.thedivesite.co.za/files/1...s/The-cove.jpg

Also this week, a U.S. naval ship ran aground on a pristine coral reef in the Philippines, damaging roughly 1,000 square meters of the Unesco World Heritage site.

I realize the Brooklyn dolphin is a totally different story, but man, I'm just sick and tired of everyone f*cking up our oceans.