Stranding Network

A stranding network is the coordinated set of authorized responders that document, rescue, and necropsy stranded marine mammals and sea turtles. In the US, the NOAA Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program, authorized under Title IV of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, organizes regional networks of permitted nonprofits, aquaria, and academic partners. Networks collect baseline data on cause of death, disease, contaminants, and entanglement, and they are the front line for detecting and investigating Unusual Mortality Events. Stranding data feed population health assessments and the sentinel-species link to ocean and human health.