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The Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge is a lead response team for the Federal Marine Mammal Stranding Network, assisting with all marine mammal strandings from central Walton County to the Alabama state line. The refuge stranding team is trained to stabilize and transport distressed marine animals and sea turtles. Stranding Center staff is instrumental in collecting data and samples for use by state and federal agencies for important research and tracking.
In January 2008, NOAA created the Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program to help gather and compare information about marine mammal strandings and rehabilitation in a nationwide database. The Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge was designated as a central collection point for most of the Florida panhandle. As Stranding Coordinator, Steve Shippee is responsible for organizing the data collected for all the marine mammals stranded in this region and inputting all the information into the national database. This data will aide ongoing research that helps us understand what causes marine mammals to strand. |
