Alaska Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program Support

Information on marine mammal strandings in Alaska has been historically sparse due to the extensive coastline, low population density, and difficulty in reaching many areas where marine mammals strand. The volunteer stranding program in Alaska continues networking, with improved communications and technology, a stranding hotline phone number, social media and websites, workshops by NMFS and various organizations, and increased local interests.

Conducting systematic and thorough necropsies on stranded marine mammals helps determine and document causes of death, including deaths due to:1) human-related interactions (e.g., boat strikes, fishing gear entanglements and trauma, gunshots, and other projectile wounds); and 2) natural causes (e.g., diseases, infections, old age, parasites, and live stranding events).

Through sampling and necropsies on both stranded and subsistence harvested marine mammals, NMFS can monitor for endemic and epidemic diseases, toxic materials in the environment, gather valuable baseline life history information, and gain insights into the health of marine mammals at the individual and population levels. Investigating marine mammal health and disease in Alaska also informs public health concerns related to the consumption of marine mammals by Alaska Natives.

The cause of death in marine mammals can be difficult to discern due to the lack of their clinical history, possible unfamiliarity with the particular anatomy, and rapid decomposition. For this reason, a systematic approach using standardized sampling protocols by experienced individuals is very important to gather as much useful and biological information as possible, which could help identify animal health and possibly determine cause of death.

The timeliness for response to live marine mammals in distress (e.g., injured, entangled, or abandoned) is equally, if not more important. Expertise in safe and expedient live animal response is needed to enact effective responses, particularly in remote areas of Alaska. With the extensive Alaskan coastline, marine mammal stranding response can require travel to very remote and distant locations.

Additionally, the program trains responders in different regions throughout the state, as well as ships marine mammal samples to laboratories for analysis. The objectives of the purchase order between NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service, Alaska Region (NOAA Fisheries AKR) and the selected contractor are for professional support services to address systematic evaluations on the causes of marine mammal strandings and for opportunistic evaluations on the health of subsistence-caught marine mammals.

The contractor shall conduct necropsies on stranded and subsistence harvested pinnipeds (except walrus) and cetaceans, with a focus on Cook Inlet beluga whales.

The contractor shall respond to stranded marine mammals; lead examinations and necropsies of dead marine mammals; collect and examine tissues from stranded and harvested marine mammals; provide diagnostic information based on histopathological examination; provide expert advice regarding the need for additional analyses; and train individuals in proper forensic necropsy technique.