Investigator appointed

GULFPORT, Miss. -- NOAA has appointed an enforcement officer to investigate the mutilation and deaths of dolphins in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Richard Stifel, an enforcement officer for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, was named Tuesday. NOAA last week issued a directive asking state and environmental officials to be on watch for incidents. Jurisdictions involved are in Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana. (Source: Sun Herald, 11/20/12)