Boat based dolphin watching tours impact dolphin behavior and cause several accidental dolphin deaths each year.

The meeting originally had been called to discuss the recent dolphin deaths along the East Coast.

The National Marine Fisheries Service said the number of dolphin deaths related to the fishing practice dropped to about 3,600 last year.

Her credentials reflected her commitment: last year, she chained herself to a tuna fishing boat to protest dolphin deaths.

There have also been unconfirmed reports of algae blooms coincident with the dolphin deaths.

"We should throw the full weight of Congress behind finding out the cause of the dolphin deaths."

All this work is intended to narrow the list of suspects, including some causes cited in other clusters of dolphin deaths.

Japan alone is responsible for about 100,000 dolphin deaths a year.

It had the flavor of stale dolphin death.

"I'm not suggesting at the moment there is a close link" with the dolphin deaths, he said, "but we can't disregard it."