{"id":42222,"date":"2024-08-21T07:18:28","date_gmt":"2024-08-21T11:18:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/?p=42222"},"modified":"2024-08-28T16:22:04","modified_gmt":"2024-08-28T20:22:04","slug":"public-asked-to-report-marine-mammal-and-turtle-sightings-and-strandings-online-or-by-phone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/2024\/08\/21\/public-asked-to-report-marine-mammal-and-turtle-sightings-and-strandings-online-or-by-phone\/","title":{"rendered":"Public Asked to Report Marine Mammal and Turtle Sightings and Strandings Online or by Phone"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;text-align: center\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Hotline or online form available; reports contribute data to marine science<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 374px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/8310\/29771981971_5d1e067508.jpg\" alt=\"Photo of beached whale\" width=\"364\" height=\"243\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Maryland Department of Natural Resources photo.<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Maryland Department of Natural Resources asks residents and visitors enjoying coastal and tidal waterways to remain alert for marine mammals and sea turtles through the end of summer and early fall. D<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">olphins, manatees, sea turtles, whales, and other marine wildlife are regular seasonal visitors to the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries, the Atlantic Ocean, and coastal bays.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Anyone who sees a marine mammal or sea turtle in Maryland waters is encouraged to report it via the Maryland Natural Resources Police Hotline, 800-628-9944, or use a simple <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/survey123.arcgis.com\/share\/5b27b80ff6ef4ec189a4e4ac49d4282d\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">online form<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> to report deceased marine mammals or sea turtles. Anglers, boaters, and beachgoers should especially be on the lookout for stranded, dead, sick, injured, or entangled animals.<\/span><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Since 1990, Maryland\u2019s <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/dnr.maryland.gov\/fisheries\/Pages\/oxford\/stranding.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Stranding Response Program<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> has answered reports of more than 1,400 strandings along Maryland\u2019s<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> 3,190 miles of coastline.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cOur responsibility is to respond to calls regarding deceased marine mammals and sea turtles,\u201d said <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Stranding Response Program<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Coordinator Amanda Weschler. \u201cWhile the death of marine wildlife can be a difficult reality, every report and the select necropsies we perform contribute valuable information to the scientific understanding of these species, their habitats, and the challenges they face in our waters.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">So far in 2024, program staff have responded to 42 animals, including:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">24 bottlenose dolphins<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">8 loggerhead sea turtles<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">3 grey seals<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">2 Kemp\u2019s Ridley sea turtles<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">1 unknown balaenopterid (unidentified large whale skull)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Single cases of harbor porpoise, harp seal, humpback whale, and striped dolphin<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Standing Response Program supports federal regulations, such as the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act, which safeguard these marine species. By conducting necropsies on stranded marine mammals and sea turtles, the program gathers essential data about the health of individual animals, the status of coastal populations, and the overall condition of Maryland\u2019s marine environment.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">A necropsy, similar to an autopsy performed on humans, is a comprehensive examination of an animal\u2019s body to determine the cause of death. This process involves organ sampling and diagnostic tissue analysis. Marine mammals strand for a variety of reasons including old age, disease, major trauma (vessel strike), predation, entanglement in fishing gear, and parasitism.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Not all reported animals are viable for necropsy due to factors such as decomposition, resource availability, and the accessibility and safety of the stranding site. In cases where necropsy is not feasible, Stranding Response Program staff record details of the case, and the bodies are often left at the stranding site to decompose naturally, benefiting the ecosystem. Alternate disposal methods include burial on-site or removal to designated disposal facilities, depending on the circumstances and local regulations.\u00a0 A list of relevant contacts for individuals seeking assistance with disposal is listed on the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/dnr.maryland.gov\/fisheries\/Documents\/PotentialPointsContact_Carcass_Removal.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">DNR website<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The department urges anyone who encounters a stranded animal, alive or dead, to maintain a safe and respectful distance and record details, including photos, to provide with a report.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hotline or online form available; reports contribute data to marine science The Maryland Department of Natural Resources asks residents and visitors enjoying coastal and tidal waterways to remain alert for marine mammals and sea turtles through the end of summer and early fall. Dolphins, manatees, sea turtles, whales, and other marine wildlife are regular seasonal<a href=\"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/2024\/08\/21\/public-asked-to-report-marine-mammal-and-turtle-sightings-and-strandings-online-or-by-phone\/\">&nbsp;&nbsp;Read the Rest&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":146,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[957,11,33],"tags":[3335],"class_list":["post-42222","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-appnews","category-fisheries","category-the-bay","tag-marine-mammal-and-sea-turtle-stranding-program"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42222","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/146"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42222"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42222\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42318,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42222\/revisions\/42318"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42222"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42222"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42222"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}