New Volunteer Training

Welcome to the Response Team New

Volunteers!Thank you for your support of MMoME and our work

Marine Mammals of Maine

◼ 501(c) 3 nonprofit

◼ To provide response, assistance and care for

stranded marine animals and to work collaboratively

with similar organizations to aid in the protection

and support of marine animals as defined by the

Marine Mammal Protection Act. To provide public

education and research about marine animals and

the environment.

◼ Non-profit with 2 staff and a board of directors

◼ ~80 dedicated, passionate volunteers

◼ Cover Kittery to Rockland Maine

◼ ~2,500 miles of coastline!

◼ Respond to ~300 marine mammals and

sea turtles annually

Organization Programs

◼ Marine Mammal Response

◼ Triage/Rehab

◼ Volunteer

◼ Outreach

◼ Fundraising

◼ Research

Legal Authorization

◼ Authorization from NMFS is required to approach marine mammals for any reason

◼ Volunteers must have permission from MMOME prior to responding to each stranding

Marine Mammals of Maine

Volunteers

Marine Mammal Protection Act

◼ All Marine Mammals are protected under the Marine

Mammal Protection Act of 1972

◼ The MMPA makes it illegal to feed, harass, capture, or

kill marine mammals

Threats to Marine Mammals

◼Are largely from human impacts,

including accidental capture in

fishing gear, habitat destruction,

poaching, pollution-marine

debris, harassment, and ship

strikes

Statewide Reporting Hotline

Maine Strandings Collaborative

◼ Maine Marine Animal Reporting Hotline

◼ 1-800-532-9551

◼ To report any whale, seal,

dolphin, porpoise,

or sea turtle

Current Maine Groups

◼ College of the Atlantic (Allied Whale), Bar Harbor

Responds to live and dead marine mammal and sea turtle strandings from Rockland to the Canadian border

◼ Marine Mammals of Maine

Responds to live and dead marine mammal from Kittery to Rockland, temporarily stabilizes seals

Northeast Regional Stranding

Network (Maine to Virginia)

What is a Stranding?

◼ Dead:

◼ on a beach or shore of the US

◼ in waters under the jurisdiction of the US (out to 3

miles)

◼ Alive:

◼ unable to return to the water

◼ in apparent need of medical attention; or

◼ in the water, but unable to return to its natural habitat

under its own power or without assistance

Stranded Animals of Maine

◼ Cetaceans ~

◼ dolphins

◼ whales

◼ porpoises

◼ Pinnipeds - 4 species

◼ true/earless seals

Northeast PinnipedsHarbor Seal Gray Seal

Harp Seal Hooded Seal

Harbor Seals Phoca vitulina-Males and Females look the same

-Pups and adults have similar coat

patterns

-Up to 5’ in length & 250lbs

-Mottled spotting, small

head with eyes equidistant between

ear and nose.

-Nostrils appear to form a

“V”

-Pups born in May off the coast

of Maine

Harp Seals (Pagophilus groenlandicus)

Pups-

Born with linugo

coat

3 feet/24 lbs

White/yellow coat

Beater-

25 days-1 year

Juvenile harp seals vs harbor seals-

tricky to differentiate at times!

Which 2 photos are harp

seals? Which photo is a

harbor seal?

Hooded Seal (Cystophora cristata)

Adults

-Characteristic nasal

flap/ “hood”

-Males up to 8.5 ft, 700

lbs

-Females up to 7 ft, 600

lbs

-Largest, and most

aggressive species we

deal with

-Can go catatonic

Pups

Blue Back

~3 feet at birth/50 lbs

Shed this coat at 14

months

-Shortest nursing

period of any mammal

species, 3-5 days

Grey Seals (Halichoerus grypus)

-Year round residents in the GoM

-Their pupping season is what puts them in our ice-seal category

-Range extends from eastern Canada and the northeastern United States

-Social species that will haul out and sometimes hunt in groups

-Can be aggressive, particularly adults

Seal Natural Historyget familiar with these, and prepare to repeat

them over and over on the beaches!

◼ Seals are semi-aquatic

◼ Naturally come on shore to rest, mate, give

birth, and thermoregulate

◼ Seals do not need to be wet, they can be dry

indefinitely

◼ Harbor seal mothers leave their pups on beaches

to rest while she hunts, and returns to collect

them when done

Pinniped Do’s and Don’ts

Do:

◼ Minimize stress

◼ Keep the area quiet

◼ Minimize contact

◼ If possible, keep out of

sight of the animal

◼ Keep dogs and people

a safe distance away

◼ Contact MMOME

Don’t:

◼ Pour water on the

animal

◼ Offer food to the animal

◼ Cover with blankets

◼ Handle the animal

◼ Return it to the water

◼ Remove it from the

water

MMoME’s Recent History

MMoME’s New Triage Center!◼ First and only triage

center on the east coast

◼ Center stabilizes sick/injured seals before transport to long-term care centers

◼ Can hold 10 seals up to 96 hours

◼ 10 housing units, 1 small pool unit, diagnostics lab, kitchen for food prep

And Now Rehab!◼ Provisional federal authorization to rehabilitate 2 seals at

a time

◼ Waiting on permitting for up to 4 seal rehab patients at a

time

◼ Working on our full rehab permit, and increasing

capacity as funding allows

◼ Rehabbed our first 2 patients in 2017, both weanling

harbor seals that would have been euthanized due to

lack of rehab space

◼ One seal costs ~ $10,000 to rehabilitate

◼ Will still rely heavily on out of state facilities and triaging

most of our rescues

Stranding Response Volunteer

Requirements and Responsibilities

◼ Fill out a volunteer application (send application back to MMOME)

◼ Minimum 18 years of age

◼ Ability to lift 50 pounds.

◼ Must have reliable transportation and a valid driver’s license

◼ Minimum commitment of 1 year

◼ Must live within the immediate coast

◼ Provide Marine Mammals of Maine with your weekly availability

◼ Must sign a liability waiver

◼ Must attend 1 training/year, if 3 consecutive trainings are missed, response

volunteers will become “inactive” and not called upon for response until a

training is attended

Stranding Response Volunteer

Requirements and Responsibilities

◼ Respond to live AND deceased animals

◼ Respond to strandings outside your home town

◼ Educate the public by interacting with beachgoers

◼ Not required but recommended: help at outreach and

fundraising events

Communication

◼ Reporting hotline: 1-800-532-9551 (public use)

◼ On call number 207-233-3199 (volunteer use, not for public)

◼ Email about our organization ldoughty@mmome.org

◼ Email in regards to volunteering dwalk@mmome.org

for photos mainestrandings@gmail.com

Weekly Availability Form

Volunteer Stranding

Response

Data Collection and Deceased Animal

Response

What Are Level A data?◼ Level A data are vitally important information volunteers collect

from each stranding case to document the event in order to

better understand the circumstances of each stranding, the

population as a whole, and overall ocean health

◼ MMoME is required to report Level A data from each stranding

to the National Marine Fisheries Service no less than once per

month.

◼ The collection and entry of these data are part of MMoME’s

stranding agreement with NMFS

• Location: note the location (beach,

street address) and town

• Lat/long: if you have a GPS, note the

latitude and longitude in decimal

degress

• Photos and video:

mainestrandings@gmail.com

•Notes: basic assessment review

(thin, in a busy spot, relocated, etc.)

•Field #: this is the MMOME number, if

we do not provide you with this number,

leave it blank

• Species

• Weight: estimate

•Length: actual length in cm

•Condition: code 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Level A Data Collection

Gender Determination

Female

Male

Condition CodesCode 1: Any Live animal

Code 2

• Fresh dead (usually within

24 hours)

• Little to no scavenger damage

• Little to no odor

• No bloating

• +/- rigor mortis

Code 3• Moderately decomposed

• Organs still recognizable

• Beginning to smell bad

• Usually has minor scavenger damage

Cetacean Pinniped

• Extremely decomposed

• Organs unrecognizable

• Strong foul odor

• Often has extensive scavenger damage

Code 4

Cetacean Pinniped

• Mummified or skeletal

remains

• Skin may be draped over

bones

• Very desiccated

Code 5

www.mmome.org/dataPassword: sealdata

All Level A data must be entered in the

online database no more than 24 hours

after responding

MMoME dispatch will give priority to

volunteers who consistently fill out

Level A data

Animal Sampling

◼ Necropsy on all fresh dead animals

◼ Tissue samples are collected for histopathology,

contaminants, parasites, serology , and virology.

Sampling in the Northeast◼ Contaminate (neurotoxin,saxtiotoxin, PCBS etc)

◼ Viral (influenza, morbilliviruse etc.)

◼ Bacteria (Leptospirosis, Brucella etc.)

◼ Parasites (many…..)

◼ Human Interaction

Data Collection Do’s and Don’ts◼ Fill in as much requested information as possible. Don’t leave

any spaces blank.

◼ Be sure to fill in the date, location, species, and your name as the observer/data recorder.

◼ Take LOTS of pictures. A picture REALLY is worth a thousand words!

◼ Do not try to interpret what you see. Just objectively report your observations.

◼ If you have any questions or problems, and whenever you suspect human interaction. Don’t hesitate to ask for help.

Personal SafetyAlways your priority-we can’t help stranded/injured animals if we’re

stranded/injured ourselves!

Hazards

◼ Transit to the scene – drive responsibly

◼ Human Safety comes first – assess the site carefully

◼ Ocean hazards, tides

◼ Walking on rocks, mud and seaweed

◼ Lifting - Know your limits!

◼ Zoonoses (diseases that can be transmitted to humans), bacteria, viruses

◼ Do not bring pets to a stranding – your focus is on the animal

◼ Consider leaving small children at home

REPORT ALL INCIDENTS TO MMOME STAFF AS SOON AS POSSIBLE !

Zoonoses◼ Marine mammals can carry bacteria, viruses and

fungi that can cause illness in humans. These

microbes can be carried by marine mammals

that appear healthy and normal.

◼ Pathogens can be transmitted from marine

mammals to people and pets through bite

wounds, inhalation and cuts.

Media Policy-Please Keep This in Mind at ALL Times!Stranding Response:No posting photos and video taken while on a response for MMoME.

All photos taken while responding to a stranded marine mammal or sea turtle are done so under a federal permit, and belong to the permit-holder. Therefore photos and video taken while responding for MMoME may not be posted on any social media sites (Facebook, Instagram, websites, etc.).

Triage Center photos and video:Photos/videos may not be taken in the animal room of the triage center. MMoME’s permit also covers activities in the center, and are thus heavily regulated and enforced by NOAA.

If Approached by the Media:Volunteers may discuss their experience as a volunteer, but everything else must be passed on to the hotline. This includes any details about an animal’s condition, actions taken for an animal, or any decisions made regarding an animal’s condition. Everything else must be directed to the hotline.

**Violating these protocols jeopardizes MMoME’s permit to work with marine mammals**