A name given when strandings are unexpected, involve a significant amount of die-off in a marine mammal population, and demand an immediate response (NOAA). National Marine Fisheries Service deemed it an Unusual Mortality Event (UME), under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. These numbers reflect the whales that were found, but there potentially could be many more that sank to the bottom of the sea floor or were scavenged by other animals. Now, what exactly is a “stranding”? It’s when a whale is discovered deceased, often washing up on the shore. A year that saw more than 216 gray whale strandings from Alaska to Mexico (NOAA). The phenomenon of increased gray whale strandings was first put on researchers' radars in 2019. A number six times higher than the 18 year average (of 29 strandings per year). It turns out that this gray whale stranding she attended was just one of 172 strandings that had happened that year along the coasts of Canada, the U.S. You can read more about their impressive undertaking in our Scuttlebutt blog “ Elbow Deep in a Gray Whale”. ![]() Collecting information about how this magnificent animal may have died and its body condition before it did. On this day, Karyssa, with a team of other experts, conducted one of the largest necropsies of her life. ![]() ![]() Our team at Strawberry Isle Marine Research Society is part of the British Columbia Marine Mammal Response Network (BCMMRN), with authorization from the DFO, we respond to marine mammal incidences like entanglements, vessel strikes, and necropsies along our coastline. A 45 foot long Gray whale lay dead, washed up on the rocky shore near Ucluelet, British Columbia. The day was July 11th, 2020, when our Executive Director Karyssa Arnett walked onto a sad and smelly scene.
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