UPDATE
     We did it!! As of August 18th, 2002 the Div. of Motor Vehicles has begun distributing the plates. Thanks to all of the applicants, especially the 1^st. 300 listed here, for your interest and support.

     Bottlenose dolphins along the east coast of the US are severely and negatively impacted by human activities. After a die-off that killed up to half of the population, the National Marine Fisheries Service in 1993 listed them as depleted under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Since then, dolphins have washed ashore dead with evidence of having been struck by boats, entangled in fishing nets, and with foreign material (human trash) in their stomachs. Yet little basic information that is critical for their conservation is known such as reproductive rates, residency and migration patterns, and habitat needs.

     A new license plate can help protect and increase our understanding of bottlenose dolphins that frequent the North Carolina coast. The North Carolina General Assembly has recently approved the sale of the $30 special license plate, a draft design of which is shown above. The plate design features a pair of leaping dolphins in 3 colors with the words "Protect Wild Dolphins". Revenues from the plate sales will go the Friends of the Museum to support the education, conservation, and research programs of the North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort.

     Keith Rittmaster, Natural Science Curator at the North Carolina Maritime Museum, has been studying the bottlenose dolphins in Beaufort since 1985. He and his wife Victoria Thayer, research assistant Nan Bowles, program assistant Allen Brooks, and several volunteers use photographs of the dolphins' dorsal fins to identify the individual dolphins - a process known as "photo-identification". The scars and notches that the dolphins acquire on their dorsal fins are used to track the movements, associations, and birth rates of the known dolphins. "We are also learning about the movements of the dolphins in waters beyond Beaufort by regularly collaborating with other researchers along the coast," says Rittmaster. He has matched dolphins identified in Beaufort with photographs from study sites as far as central Florida to the south, Virginia Beach to the north, and many sites in between. This collaboration is critical to the study, and researchers from the Virginia Marine Science Museum, National Marine Fisheries Service, Duke Marine Lab, Nags Head Dolphin Watch and UNC-Wilmington all share photographs and data.

     In addition to studying the live, free-swimming dolphins, Rittmaster is authorized under the Marine Mammal Protection Act to respond to strandings of whales and dolphins as part of the Marine Mammal Stranding Network. Examining carcasses of beached dolphins has shown him many negative effects of human interactions. Dolphins tangled in fishing nets and lines die trapped in the debris. Dolphins are also sliced by boat propellers and ingest litter that can often be lethal.

     People have fed wild dolphins and Rittmaster cites reports of people even giving the dolphins Twinkies, sunglasses or whatever is in the boat with them when they run out of fish. Lens caps, fishing hooks and other litter have been found inside of dead dolphin stomachs. Dolphins are wild animals, and if they get used to coming to people, it can create danger to the animals as well as to humans. Some wild dolphins have come to expect the handouts, and have been known to become aggressive and bite. In addition, it is against federal law to feed or harass wild dolphins, punishable by imprisonment and/or fines.

     Rittmaster hopes to learn more about dolphin behavior and human impact on dolphins and the environment. Sale of the dolphin plates will benefit both this project, and environmental studies and educational field trips that are part of the Maritime Museum's Cape Lookout Studies Program. For each $30 plate purchased, the Friends of the Maritime Museum support group will receive $20. To personalize a dolphin plate requires an additional $20.

     People seeking an application for a Maritime Museum "Protect Wild Dolphins" license plate may:

   Go to their local license plate agency
   Contact DMV at (919) 861-3575
   Download & print application in PDF format (150k)
   Download & print application in Microsoft Word format (254kb)

These documents are presented in PDF format (Portable Document Format) allowing you to view them in their original form. If you have not already installed this software, you may download it free from Adobe.

     Thanks for your interest and support!