Stranding Response - Petersburg Marine Mammal Center

Stranding Response

Animal Rescue

Entanglement in marine debris and fishing gear is an important source of fatality in marine mammals in Alaska, particularly for large whales. PMMC is an active member of the Alaska Marine Mammal Stranding Network and draws on a team of trained volunteers to assist marine mammals in distress.

Report stranded, injured, entangled or dead marine mammals 24/7 to NOAA Fisheries

1•877•925•7773

PMMC Stranding Response - Disentangling Humpback Whale

What we do

Since 2008 we have been an active member of the Alaska Marine Mammal Stranding Network, which means we work under permit from NOAA Fisheries to render assistance to distressed marine mammals. Our volunteer responders are trained to disentangle large whales, assist injured or stranded marine mammals, and gather data for research.

Equipment and Tools

In addition to maintaining our own response boat, our team also includes a large network of private and charter boat captains.

Our toolkit includes knives and specialized equipment to disentangle wildlife, underwater camera equipment for monitoring and assessing distressed wildlife, telemetry technology to track entangled whales, and tools to conduct field necropsies (animal autopsies) when necessary.

PMMC Stranding Response - Approaching an Engtangled Whale

Where We Work

We work within the Petersburg and Wrangell region ranging from the Stephens Passage and Frederick Sound confluence south to Sumner Strait.

Videos

Disentanglement Training

2 minutes

PMMC responders attended a hands-on training session in June 2017. The goal was to practice large whale disentanglement and safety techniques.

Catch & Release: Stranding Response Presentation

1 hour 10 minutes

Ed Lyman (Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary) assists NOAA Fisheries and community-based responders free large whales from life threatening entanglements. This Petersburg Science Series presentation was recorded while he was in Petersburg to train PMMC responders.

Photos

Volunteer

Interested in volunteering? Our local volunteers bring a range of skills to the team from communications, photography, documentation and boat handling. We are trained to respond to disentanglement, stranding and injury events in addition to collecting samples for necropsy. Some members are also trained to render assistance to marine mammals during national oil spill events.