The Puntland ministries responsible for environment and fisheries coordinated the response with marine-science and university teams. Authorities said 30 dolphins were returned to the sea and around 60 were confirmed dead. The status of the remaining animals was not specified in the supplied reports, so those two figures should not be read as a complete accounting of every dolphin observed.
A second local report independently described more than 100 dolphins on the shoreline between Bosaso and Mareero and said the event shocked residents and environmental officials. The two accounts broadly corroborated the unusual scale of the stranding, although one offered the more precise estimate of at least 140.
Researchers collected fluid and tissue samples from the dolphins. They also took water and soil samples from the affected coastline for laboratory analysis. The joint team included the Puntland Institute of Marine Science, East Africa University, City University and government ministries. Officials said results would be released publicly after testing.
Toxic-waste dumping in Somali waters was raised as one possible explanation, but authorities had not confirmed that theory. No other dead marine species had been found along the coastline in the initial survey, a detail that investigators may consider alongside laboratory results. The evidence packet did not identify disease, sonar, fishing activity, weather or any other factor as a proven cause.
Senior officials visiting the site included Fisheries and Marine Resources Minister Abdirisak Abdullahi Xagaa, Deputy Minister Mohamoud M. Ali Gabax and acting director general Mohamed Said Black. Their presence reflected both the number of animals involved and public concern about the condition of Puntland's marine environment.
Mass strandings require a disciplined distinction between observation and explanation. The observable facts at Mareero were a large group of dolphins ashore, dozens dead, surviving animals returned to open water and samples taken from multiple sources. The proposition that pollution caused the event remained speculation until analysis could detect a contaminant and connect it credibly with the animals' condition.
The rescue figures also showed the practical limits of the response. Returning 30 dolphins to the sea did not establish their later survival, and the reports did not say how long the animals had been stranded before teams arrived. Further updates were expected to clarify the species involved, final mortality and laboratory findings. Until then, the case remained an active environmental investigation rather than a confirmed pollution incident.
