The John H. Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue Assistance Grant Program Report FY 2016–2020

Since FY2001, Congress has appropriated up to $4 million annually to NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) to fund the John H. Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue Assistance Grant Program under the authority of Title IV of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), which formally established the Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program (MMHSRP) in 1992. NOAA Fisheries funds eligible members of the National Marine Mammal Stranding and Entanglement Networks and research collaborators through grants and cooperative agreements. The funding supports response to or treatment of marine mammals, collection of data from living or dead marine mammals for health research, and facility operation costs. Prescott Grant funding has enabled Stranding and Entanglement Network members to expand response coverage, enhance response capabilities and data collection, as well as build and upgrade rehabilitation facilities. From 2016–2020, the Prescott Grant Program awarded more than $16 million through 187 competitive grants to Stranding and Entanglement Network members and research collaborators. Recipients included members in 24 states and two tribes. NOAA Fisheries awarded an additional $418,316 in emergency funds in that period.