Marine Mammal Mortality

Location: Alaska

Description: The project includes observations of marine mammals strandings

Background: There are several agencies looking into the health and potential decline of some species of sea mammals in Alaska. A recent die-off of whales has been designated as an Unusual Mortality Event (UME) by NOAA and is under investigation. As reported on August 21, 2015 in the Alaska Dispatch News: 'They come at a time when scientists and resource managers are coping with several abnormalities in the Pacific marine environment. Thousands of starving sea lion pups have been stranded along the California coast, a situation that sparked its own unusual mortality event declaration; a harmful algal bloom of unusual size and duration has emerged in waters from Alaska to California; and large numbers of seabirds have died in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska from yet-to-be-determined causes. They also come at a time when northeastern Pacific surface temperatures are much higher than normal, thanks to a persistent warm mass nicknamed “The Blob,” and warm conditions are expected to continue, thanks to a developing El Nino weather system. Those warm conditions, both in the water in and in the atmosphere, extend to the Gulf of Alaska, said Teri Rowles, lead marine mammal scientist for NOAA Fisheries.“That always concerns us because that means there’s probably a change in overall pathogen exposure, possibly harmful algal blooms and other factors,” Rowles said in Thursday’s teleconference. A leading suspect in the Alaska whale deaths is some type of toxin produced by an algal bloom, she said."

Funding: Open Invitation

Partners: One Health Group

Observing Guidance: Make complete observation using LEO Reporter App or LEO website. Report dead or distressed marine mammals to the stranding hotline. Alaska Marine Mammal Stranding Network: Dead or Distressed Marine Mammals, Reporting a Dead Marine Mammal. The 'Animal is Dead,' "What can you do?," "Gather Information then Call," and "Who to call Depending on the Species." Alaska Department of Fish and Game Strandings can be reported to the Marine Mammal Stranding Network. The hotline number at NMFS statewide 24-hour Stranding Hotline: (877) 9AK-RPRD or (877) 925-7773. Resource Information: National Marine Fisheries Service, Alaska Region Office, (NOAA Fisheries)

Source Data: LEO Observations

Outputs: Inclusion on map and event timeline (pending).

Project Updates: The first trend post was in February 26, 2015. As of February 23, 2016, there have been fifteen marine mammal observations, related to mortality events and low population numbers.

Resources:

The Detective of Northern Oddities Outside Magazine January 2017

Alaska Public Media - Kachemak sea otter deaths under investigation; Authorities seek public’s help (2015-10-13) - Scientists continue to see large numbers of dead or sick sea otters turning up in the Kachemak Bay region. Officials with the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service say the agency has received about 200 reports of sick or dead otters over the past couple of months.

They’ve teamed up with the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward and they’re running tests to try to find out the cause. In the meantime, they’re asking for the public’s help.

The sea otters in Kachemak Bay are part of a population that stretches from Cook Inlet to Prince William Sound. In the 1970’s they received protection through the Marine Mammal Protection Act and remain protected. At last count (2012), the Kachemak Bay otter population was around 5,900.

If you see a beached live otter or a dead one, officials want to know about it. They’re asking people to call the Alaska SeaLife Center Stranded Marine Mammal Hotline. They say otters shouldn’t be approached because streptococcus related illness can be passed to humans. Dogs should also be restrained, as the illness can be passed to them too. In addition, a sick otter could get defensive.

Officials with the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Alaska SeaLife Center say they’re waiting for lab tests to get back in the next few weeks.

• (2015-12-28) Alaska Public Media - Bacterial infection to blame in Kachemak otter die-off

• (2016-02-11) Alaska Dispatch News - For the first time, researchers have documented algae-related toxins in Arctic sea mammals

• (2016-02-16) Washington Post - This could explain all those strange happening in Alaska waters