A team of marine mammal experts will attempt today to rescue two dolphins that have been stranded in the Shrewsbury River since early September.

The bottlenose dolphins -- a mother and her calf -- swam into the river from the Atlantic Ocean, probably in the hunt for menhaden or other forage fish.

That is not unusual, experts say. But staying there through November is.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has organized a 30-person team of veterinarians, mammal handlers, divers and marine biologists to attempt the rescue, NOAA spokeswoman Teri Frady said Tuesday.

Using a float-equipped encircling net trailing behind a boat, they will attempt to capture the dolphins and take them to a truck so they can be driven over land and put back into the ocean, preferably in the Monmouth Beach area, Frady said.

The team hopes to make the 1.9-mile trip from the point where the dolphins are landed to the ocean release spot in 30 minutes or less.

The animals are worth the effort, she said.

"They're protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and the coastal migratory population lost half its members in late `80s. A reproductively active female and calf are important in stabilizing that population," Frady said.