MARINE MAMMAL HEALTH AND STRANDING RESPONSE (MMHSRP) program

Title:
Marine mammal stranding response

Response description:
The Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response (MMHSRP) program is a nation-wide program run by the NOAA Office of Protected Resources to train vets, responders, and volunteers to respond to and collect scientific data from dead stranded marine mammals or live animals that are injured, out of habitat, or otherwise in distress. Data collection ranges from basic sighting information to complete necropsy sampling.

Role in response :
Have been the Unalaska MMHSRP responder for 3 years. Dead strandings usually result in morphometrics, tissue sampling and reporting. Live strandings and abandonments (predominantly smaller animals) result in flying the animals to the Alaska Sea Life Center for rehabilitation which are then returned to the community and released. The live Killer whale stranding ultimately re-stranded dead and the once-sighted entangled Humpback whale was never re-sighted. Samples have been sent to the Alaska Sea Life Center and when possible carcasses were cleaned for re-articulation.

Products:
 Rearticulted Baird's beaked whale rearticulated and hung in the Unalaska City School District high school. Pinnaped skull display given to Qawalangin Tribe of Unalaska (Harbor seal, Steller sea lion and Sea otter).

Sea Grant tenants addressed:
Response and Outreach

 

PLEASE CLICK ON AN ICON
FOR PICTURES 		STRANDING EVENTS
Baird's Beaked Whale BAIRD'S BEAKED WHALE (dead stranding)
July 2004 - Responded to a stranded Baird's Beaked Whale found off of Cape Cheerful near Unalaska. The whale was a female, approximate 5.3 meters in length. Body measurements were taken, a skin sample was retrieved for DNA testing and the head was removed to be sent to Washington D.C. for further research at the Smithsonian Institute. A necropsy was performed by a TASSC member and the administrator of the Qawalangin Tribe. The remains of the whale have been cleaned and the rearticulated whale has been hung at the local high school.
Selendang Ayu oil spill response
STELLER SEA LION (dead stranding)
April 2005 - Found a female Steller sea lion dead and stranded near Summer's Bay in Unalaska, Alaska. After the stranding was reported to the proper authorities and native hunters took desired portions (meat and hide) a necropsy was performed to reveal a dead pup inside. The pup was sent to the Alaska Sea Life Center for research.
Abandonded Harbor Seal
HARBOR SEAL PUP (live stranding/ abandoned)
April 2005 - Live Stranded/ Abandoned Harbor Seal Pup. Set up local community members as watch teams to protect the pup from scavengers while waiting for the mother to return. After no appearance from the mother for the mandatory 24 hour watch, the pup was sent to the Alaska Sea Life Center for rehabilitation and rehydration. The pup was released in Unalaska in September 2005.
Giant squid strandings
KILLER WHALE (live starnding)
June 2005 - Live stranded killer whale. Responded to a 16.5 foot “live” stranded Orcinus orca that beached itself on Unalaska Island. After contacting the appropriate Stranding Response Network and the Alaska Sea Life Center, worked with crews of community members to shuttle water to the whale to keep its body temperature low until the next high tide. Photographs were sent to the Marine Mammal Stranding Network and the individual was identified as a local resident.
Massive krill stranding event
DALL'S PORPOISE (dead stranding)
September 2005 - Dead stranded Dall’s popoise. Responded to adult female Dall’s porpoise that showed up in Morse Cove, Unalaska. Cause of death unknown although some bite marks were observed. Tissues samples and measurements were taken for the Alaska Sea Life Center and the Marine Mammal Stranding Network. Currently the porpoise is being prepared for rearticulation.
Spotted seal stranding
SPOTTED SEAL PUP (live stranding/ abandoned)
May 2006 - Live stranded Spotted seal pup. Responded to a call from the Unalaska Troopers that a young seal pup had hauled out near OSI in Captains Bay, Unalaska. Local processors reported the pup alone in the area for five days finally hauling out and appearing in distress. The 3 week old female pup was captured and sent to the Alaska Sea Life Center for rehab.
STELLER SEA LION PUP (dead stranding)
January 2007 - A dead Steller sea lion pup was accidentally captured by a pollock trawler just outside of Unalaska Bay, Alaska. The onboard observer cut off the snout for genetics work and health assessment. The pup carcass was sent into Anchorage for necropsy and tissue sampling.

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