November Haul-Out Survey

Sea lions at Whale Rocks – Whale Museum photo

This story comes from the Whale Museum’s E-News monthly newsletter…

Starting earlier this year, The Whale Museum’s San Juan County Marine Mammal Stranding Network began conducting regular surveys of sea lion haul-outs in San Juan County. Both Whale Rocks in Cattle Pass and Green Point on Spieden Island are popular gathering spots for Steller sea lions and California sea lions.

On November 10, we conducted a haul-out survey and spent the afternoon in the midst of a feeding frenzy at Whale Rocks. Marine birds, sea lions, harbor porpoises and harbor seals were bursting with energy. Our goal with these surveys is to get an accurate count of animals throughout the year and to keep an eye out for any individuals that are entangled in marine debris.

Thanks to many groups including NOAA, SeaDoc Society and the Vancouver and Seattle Aquariums, the capabilities to disentangle large pinnipeds in the Pacific Northwest have been rapidly improving. However, rescuing a 2000 lb animal is no easy task and involves a lot of resources and highly trained personnel.

Haul-out surveys allow us to investigate the prevalence of entanglements in our area, document the type of gear involved and hopefully identify the perfect window of opportunity for collaborative rescue attempts.

Report entangled animals to (800) 462-8832 or (866) 767-6114 – photos are helpful but do not approach the animal closer than 100 yards.

Read more news here.

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