Survival odds slim for stranded marine mammals
Earth & Sky got interested in this story because we get so many press releases from NOAA about whales and other marine mammals. Some speak of stranded animals. Others warn ships at sea to avoid rare whale species. It's a clear case of humans trying hard to care for another earthly species. Teri Rowles told Earth & Sky that NOAA is working with the fishing and shipping industries as well as the general public to minimize marine mammal hazards in the ocean.
JB: This is Earth & Sky, on why it’s a big deal to rescue a whale or other marine mammal stranded on a beach.
DB: Every year, thousands of whales, dolphins, and porpoises are found dead or dying on beaches or floating near the shore. They’ve been struck by ships, or gotten tangled in fishing lines, or they’ve been poisoned by harmful algal blooms or chemicals washed into the ocean.
JB: That’s according to Teri Rowles, director of the Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. She told Earth & Sky that 103 organizations in the U.S. make up what’s called the National Stranding Network. Together, they respond to thousands of marine strandings every year. Rowles also said that of the 1,500 whales, dolphins, and porpoises the network found stranded in 2004, nearly 1,300 had already died. Of just over 200 marine mammals stranded alive, only 5 survived and were eventually released.
Rowles: One hundred percent of their environment should be in the water. They’re not used to being on the beach. A lot of physiological damage happens to them the minute they start on the beach. So the time from when they hit the beach to detection and action determines, often, the survival.
DB: For information about what you can do to help protect marine mammals, come to earthsky.org. Our thanks today to NOAA. We’re Block and Byrd for Earth & Sky.
For more on stranded whales, read Earth & Sky’s interview and radio program with Darlene Ketten of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
Help protect marine mammals with responsible marine wildlife viewing, from NOAA.
Learn about the Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program at NOAA.
Our thanks to:
Teri Rowles
Director
Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program
NOAA
Additional Teacher Resources
NOAA: Office of Protected Resources
NOAAs National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Office of Protected Resources has joint responsibility with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service for implementing the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). All marine mammals are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). Approximately 1,850 species, including marine turtles, fish, invertebrates, and some marine mammals, are listed under the ESA as either threatened or endangered . NMFS also maintains a list of species of concern and a list of species that are candidates for listing under the ESA.
NOAA: Alaska Marine Mammal Stranding Network
About 30 species of marine mammals occur in Alaskan waters and numerous standings take place each year. The primary objective of the Alaska Marine Mammal Stranding Network is to facilitate investigation of these strandings and to compile scientific data or to gather specimen material.
