The Marine Mammal Health and Stranding
Response Program of the National Marine Fisheries Service is charged
under the Marine Mammal Protection Act with facilitating the collection
and dissemination of reference data on stranded marine mammals and
health
trends of marine mammal populations in the wild.
Through
cooperation with NMFS Regional Coordinators, local organizations and
state and local government officials respond to and collect valuable
data from stranded marine mammals as participants in the national
Marine Mammal Stranding Network.
The John H.
Prescott Marine Mammal
Rescue Assistance Grant Program is conducted by NOAA to provide Federal
assistance to eligible members of the Stranding Network to:
(1) Support
basic needs of organizations for response, treatment, and data
collection from living and dead stranded marine mammals; (2) fund
scientific research objectives designed to answer questions about
marine mammal strandings, health, or rehabilitation techniques
utilizing data from living and dead stranded marine mammals; and, (3)
support facility operations directly related to the recovery or
treatment of stranded marine mammals and collection of data from living
or dead stranded marine mammals.