In the early afternoon of Monday, September 5, the Quebec Marine Mammal Emergency Response Network call centre receives a report concerning an Atlantic white-sided dolphin carcass floating near the mouth of the H\u00e2t\u00e9e River between Rimouski and Le Bic. I was then asked to prepare my gear and head to the site; in the meantime the centre reached out to several Network volunteers who are essential for carrying out such interventions. This is the second dolphin recovered by the Network this year. In fact, a white-beaked dolphin was found stranded on a beach in Blanc-Sablon last July. These two dolphin species are regular visitors to the Gulf, especially in the fall, while white-sided dolphins occasionally venture as far upriver as the St. Lawrence Estuary.<\/p>\n
Upon my arrival, I learn that the most direct access to the site is through a campground, where only paying visitors are generally granted access to the beach. While the call centre is trying to find a way to access the site, I find an observation point from which I can scan the bay with my binoculars; I quickly manage to locate the dolphin carcass thanks to the long pectoral fin sticking out the water near the low tide line. A few minutes later, the owner of the campsite gives us permission to access the beach closest to where the dolphin is.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In the early afternoon of Monday, September 5, the Quebec Marine Mammal Emergency Response Network call centre receives a report concerning an Atlantic white-sided dolphin carcass floating near the mouth of the H\u00e2t\u00e9e River between Rimouski and Le Bic. I was then asked to prepare my gear and head to the site; in the meantime […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":59633,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[401],"tags":[412,1790,424,414],"class_list":["post-59728","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-field-notes","tag-carcasse-en","tag-dauphin-a-flanc-blanc-en","tag-reseau-quebecois-durgence-pour-les-mammiferes-marins-en-2","tag-reseau-quebecois-durgence-pour-les-mammiferes-marins-en"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n