The Navy has concluded that it would have been dangerous to stop an underwater training blast believed to have killed three or four dolphins last month off San Diego Bay.
The 3rd Fleet public affairs office said Monday that Navy divers monitored the area for marine mammals for more than 90 minutes before placing a charge on the ocean floor.
The Navy says that 10 minutes into the 15-minute countdown, observers spotted dolphins approaching and the commanders determined it would have been too dangerous to try to stop the detonation. They instead placed their boat between the dolphins and the detonation site in an attempt to head off the pod.
Three dead dolphins were recovered there. Another was found days later near Ocean Beach.
Training remains suspended.
