NOAA Awards $2.75 Million for Marine Mammal Rescue Efforts

September 10, 2015

Grant funds will go to partner organizations around the nation to respond to and rehabilitate stranded marine mammals and collect data on their health.

Media Release |

National

Connie Barclay

(301) 427-8029

connie.barclay@noaa.gov

Today, NOAA Fisheries announced the award of $2.75 million in grant funding to partner organizations in 16 states to respond to and rehabilitate stranded marine mammals and collect data on their health. The John H. Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue Assistance Grant Program provides funding to non-profit and for-profit organizations, academic institutions, and state agencies that are members of the National Marine Mammal Stranding Network.

"Prescott grants help our national marine stranding response teams continue to improve their techniques, and supports our efforts to establish links between the health of marine mammals, coastal communities and our coastal ecosystems,” said Dr. Teri Rowles, NOAA Fisheries lead marine mammal veterinarian and coordinator of the Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program. “The money supports vital information needed to protect and conserve whales, dolphins, seals and sea lions.”

“Prescott grants tie directly to NOAA Fisheries’ core mission, which includes the conservation, protection and recovery of protected marine resources, including whales, dolphins, seals and sea lions,” said Eileen Sobeck, assistant NOAA administrator for fisheries. “Helping our stranding partners do their jobs on the front lines of response and rehabilitation fits in perfectly with our goals.”

The Stranding Network is comprised of trained professionals and volunteers from more than 100 organizations that partner with NOAA Fisheries to investigate marine mammal strandings, rehabilitate animals, and assist with research on marine mammal health issues. NOAA Fisheries relies on its long-standing partnership with stranding network members to obtain the vital research about marine mammal health needed to develop effective conservation programs for marine mammal populations in the wild.

Since the Prescott Grant Program’s inception in 2001, NOAA Fisheries has awarded 518 Prescott grants to members of the National Marine Mammal Stranding Network, totaling more than $45.5 million. Over the years, Prescott grants have enabled members to improve operations, such as expanding response coverage, enhancing response capabilities and data collection, and improving rehabilitation of marine mammals.

Prescott Grants are made under Title IV of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which authorizes NOAA Fisheries to fund eligible members of the National Marine Mammal Stranding Network through grants and cooperative agreements.

For more information about the Prescott Grant Program, details on each 2015 grant, eligibility requirements, and funding opportunities, please visit our Prescott Grant page.

FY 2015 Prescott Awards Summary Table – Breakdown by Region

State

Applicant
Project Title
Federal Funding

Greater Atlantic Region

Sea Research Foundation, Inc.
Support and enhancement for the Marine Mammal Stranding Program at Sea Research Foundation's Mystic Aquarium
$79,933

International Fund for Animal Welfare
Pinniped Entanglement Investigation and Response in the Northeastern U.S.
$97,542

National Marine Life Center, Inc.
Continuing the Marine Mammal Morphological Parasite Laboratory
$51,734

National Marine Life Center, Inc.
Programmatic Support for Pinniped Rehabilitation in Northern New England: Enhancing Data Collection and Preparedness for Emergency Events
$70,041

Seacoast Science Center, Inc.
Building on the Success of the Seacoast Science Center's New Stranding Response Program
$15,000

Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation
Development and deployment of an Incident Management Team (IMT) through the continued support of the Specially Trained Animal Response Team (START)
$50,000

Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation
Support for Facility Operation to Maintain Response, Treatment and Data Collection of Live and Dead Marine Mammals in New York State
$100,000

Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center Foundation, Inc.
Coordinating Expert Response, Rehabilitation, and Data Collection for Stranded Marine Mammals in Virginia
$99,703

Southeast Region

Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission
Level 1 and Level 2 Necropsy Training for Increasing Quality of Level A, B, and C Data Collection by the Southeast Cetacean Stranding Network
$33,080

Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute
Supporting marine mammal stranding response, education and outreach along the east coast of central Florida: A region of repeated Unusual Mortality Events
$99,996

Mote Marine Laboratory
Mass stranding capacity building for equipment and training, and rapid detection, response and recovery of stranded cetaceans in Southwest Florida
$80,389

The Florida Institute of Technology
Multi-Regional HAB Toxin Diagnostics for the Marine Mammal Stranding Network
$49,888

Chicago Zoological Society
A National Service Center for Post-Release Monitoring of Small Cetaceans
$58,316

Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries
Marine Mammal Stranding Response, Rescue and Recovery; Enhancing Operations, Rapid Response, and Sample Collection Along the Louisiana Coast
$99,992

North Carolina Department of Environment & Natural Resources
Marine Mammal Stranding Response in Central Coastal and Inland North Carolina and Continued Bottlenose Dolphin Post-UME Surveillance
$95,385

University of North Carolina Wilmington
Response to and Coordination of Marine Mammal Strandings in North Carolina with Special Emphasis on Bottlenose Dolphin Post-UME and Human Interaction Monitoring
$98,295

Coastal Carolina University
The South Carolina Marine Mammal Stranding Network: Restoring Stranding Response Capacity
$80,661

Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network
Support of the Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network (TMMSN) Rehabilitation and Research Program for Enhanced Investigation of Stranding Events along the Texas Coast
$90,407

West Coast Region

California Academy of Sciences
Improving staff and volunteer qualifications in order to enhance response and data collection from dead stranded marine mammals in southern Mendocino and Sonoma counties, California
$79,957

California Wildlife Center
Marine Mammal Rehabilitation Facility Upgrades and Consistent Coverage
$73,667

Channel Islands Cetacean Research Unit
Enhancement to CICRU's Bio-Surveillance and Cetacean Health Monitoring Program
$87,078

Channel Islands Marine and Wildlife Institute
Dedicated Support to Maintain Enhanced Operations and Coverage for Marine Mammal Stranding Response, Rehabilitation and Data Collection in Ventura County
$100,000

Humboldt State University Sponsored Programs Foundation
Vehicle and Programmatic Support for the HSU Marine Mammal Stranding Program serving Del Norte, Humboldt and Mendocino Counties in Northern California
$81,724

The Regents of the University of California, Santa Cruz
Enhanced Stranding Response and a Continued Response Partnership Between The Long Marine Lab and Moss Landing Stranding Networks
$85,983

Oregon State University
Supporting and Enhancing the Capabilities of the Oregon Marine Mammal Stranding Network
$99,964

Portland State University
Tracking the Role of Human Interaction and Disease in the Northern Oregon/Southern Washington Marine Mammal Stranding Program
$100,000

Cascadia Research Collective
Marine mammal stranding response in Puget Sound and Washington Outer Coast, and for large cetaceans throughout Washington State, 2016-2018
$99,969

Feiro Marine Life Center
The Juan de Fuca Marine Mammal Stranding Network (JdF MMSN): Response and Volunteer Training
$25,226

The Whale Museum
Stranding Response and Disease Surveillance in San Juan County, Washington
$78,634

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
Response and Investigating Causes of Mortality in Washington Marine Mammals
$100,000

Alaska Region

Seward Association for the Advancement of Marine Science
Live Marine Mammal Response in Alaska: Rehabilitation & Readiness for Unusual Events
$99,945

University of Alaska Anchorage
Continued Strengthening of Alaska's Marine Mammal Stranding Program through Collaborative Level B and C Reporting; Diagnostic Support and Continuing Education for Stranding Network Members
$97,998

Pacific Islands Region