Report a Stranded or Injured Marine Animal
Reporting a sick, injured, entangled, stranded, or dead animal is the best way to make sure professional responders and scientists know about it and can take appropriate action. Numerous organizations around the country are trained and ready to respond. If you see a sick, injured, stranded, or dead marine mammal or sea turtle, immediately contact your local stranding network (phone numbers provided below).
You can also use our Dolphin and Whale 911 app to report a stranded marine mammal. The app is available for Apple devices.
The public should report all sightings of stranded animals to the appropriate contact number for your location (select your region below). If you see a stranded marine mammal or sea turtle, keep people and pets back a safe distance of at least 50 yards (150 feet).
Select Your Region
Alaska
Reporting Key
Dolphins/Whales
Sea Turtles
Seals/Sea Lions
Fish
Statewide Contacts
NOAA Fisheries Alaska Statewide 24-Hour Stranding Hotline
*For injured/stranded whales, seals, sea lions, porpoises, and dolphins
Phone: (877) 925-7773 or (877) 9-AKR-PRD
Alaska SeaLife Center 24-Hour Stranding Hotline
Seward, AK
*Includes injured/stranded walruses, sea otters, and polar bears
Phone: (888) 774-7325
Marine Mammals Management Office of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Anchorage, AK
*Includes injured/stranded walruses, sea otters, and polar bears
Phone: (800) 362-5148 (business hours only)
Reporting Death/Injury of a Marine Mammal During Commercial Fishing Operations
Phone: (907) 586-7240 (business hours only)
Alaska Partners
Alaska Consortium of Zooarchaeologists
Anchorage, AK
Alaska Department of Fish and Game
Juneau, AK
Alaska SeaLife Center
Seward, AK
Alaska State Parks
Juneau, AK
Alaska State Parks
Kodiak, AK
Alaska Veterinary Pathology Services
Eagle River, AK
Alaska Whale Foundation
Petersburg, AK
Aleut Community of St. Paul
St. Paul, AK
Rachel Berngartt, DVM
Juneau, AK
Chichagof Conservation Council
Tenakee, AK
Glacier Bay National Park
Gustavus, AK
North Slope Borough
Utqiagvik, AK
Petersburg Marine Mammal Center
Petersburg, AK
Sitka Sound Science Center
Sitka, AK
Togiak National Wildlife Refuge
Togiak, AK
University of Alaska Fairbanks, Museum of the North
Fairbanks, AK
University of Alaska Fairbanks, Marine Advisory Program, NW Alaska
Nome, AK
University of Alaska Southeast, Juneau
Juneau, AK
University of Alaska, Sitka
Sitka, AK
U.S. Forest Service
Yakutat, AK
New England/Mid-Atlantic
Reporting Key
Dolphins/Whales
Sea Turtles
Seals/Sea Lions
Fish
Regional
Northeast Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Stranding and Entanglement Hotline
Phone: (866) 755-NOAA (866-755-6622)
Connecticut/Rhode Island
Mystic Aquarium
Area covered: Connecticut, RI and Fishers Island, NY
Phone: (860) 572-5955 x 107
Delaware
Maine
Maine Marine Animal Reporting Hotline
Phone: (800) 532-9551
Allied Whale, College of the Atlantic
Area covered: From the Canadian border to Rockland, ME
Maryland
Maryland State Hotline
Phone: (800) 628-9944
Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Cooperative Oxford Laboratory
Area covered: Maryland
Dead animals only
Phone: (800) 628-9944
National Aquarium in Baltimore, Marine Animal Rescue Program
Live animals only
Phone: (410) 576-3880
Massachusetts
Massachusetts Audubon Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary
Phone: (508) 349-2615 x 6104
International Fund for Animal Welfare
Area covered: Cape Cod and southeastern MA
Phone: (508) 743-9548
Center for Coastal Studies
Entangled animals in the marine environment only
Phone: (800) 900-3622
Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC)
Area covered: North Weymouth through Plymouth, MA
Phone: (617) 688-6872
Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head Aquinnah
Area covered: Martha's Vineyard, MA
Phone: (866) 755-6622
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New York
New York Stranding Hotline
Phone: (631) 369-9829
Virginia
Pacific Islands
Reporting Key
Dolphins/Whales
Sea Turtles
Seals/Sea Lions
Fish
Hawai'i
Hawaiʻi Statewide Marine Animal Stranding, Entanglement, and Reporting Hotline
Includes stranded/injured sea turtles, monk seals, dolphins, and whales
Phone: (888) 256-9840
Hawai'i DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE) Hotline
DLNRTip app for iPhone or Android mobile devices: https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/docare/
Phone: (808) 643-DLNR (808-643-3567)
NOAA Office of Law Enforcement Hotline
Immediately call/report possible illegal or suspicious activity.
Written reports, video, and photos may be emailed.
Phone: (800) 853-1964
Email: RespectWildlife@noaa.gov
For Non-Emergencies - Monk Seal Photos and Written Reports
Guam
NOAA Office of Law Enforcement
Agana, GU
Phone: (671) 472-7200
Conservation Office Hotline
Phone: (671) 688-DAWR (671-688-3297)
Department of Agriculture and Wildlife Resources Administrative Office
Mangilao, GU
*Please contact during regular business hours
Phone: (671) 735-0281 or (671) 735-0294
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
CNMI Division of Fish and Wildlife Hotline
Saipan, MP
Phone: (670) CTRTLES (670-287-8537)
NOAA CNMI Field Office
Phone: (670) 285-2287
American Samoa
American Samoa Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources
Pago Pago, AS
Phone: (684) 633-4456 or (684) 252-0445
Southeast
Reporting Key
Dolphins/Whales
Sea Turtles
Seals/Sea Lions
Fish
Regional
NOAA Fisheries Southeast Marine Mammal Stranding Hotline
Phone: (877) WHALE-HELP (877-942-5343)
NOAA Fisheries Southeast Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage Network Hotline
State-specific hotline numbers listed below.
Phone: (844) SEA-TRTL (844-732-8785)
Smalltooth Sawfish Encounter Hotline
Phone: (844) 4SAWFISH or (844) 472-9347
Sturgeon Salvage Network
Phone: (844) STURG-911 or (844) 788-7491
Alabama
Alabama Marine Mammal Stranding Hotline
Phone: (877) WHALE-HELP (877-942-5343)
Alabama Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage Network Hotline
Phone: (866) SEA-TURTLE (866-732-8878)
Dauphin Island Sea Lab
Dauphin Island, AL
Florida
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC)
Wildlife Alert Hotline
Phone: (888) 404-FWCC (888-404-3922)
Florida Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage Network
Phone: (888) 404-FWCC (888-404-3922)
Central Panhandle Aquatic Preserve Office
Eastpoint, FL
Clearwater Marine Aquarium
Clearwater, FL
Dolphin Conservation Field Station at Marineland
St. Augustine, FL
Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge, Inc.
Destin, FL
Florida Aquarium
Tampa, FL
Florida Marine Mammal Stranding Network—Southwest Region
Port Charlotte, FL
FWC FWRI Marine Mammal Pathobiology Laboratory
St. Petersburg, FL
FWC Northeast Field Laboratory
Jacksonville, FL
FWC Tallahassee
Tallahassee, FL
Gulf Islands National Seashore
Gulf Breeze, FL
Gulf World Marine Park
Panama City, FL
Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute—Florida Atlantic University
Fort Pierce, FL
Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute
Orlando, FL
Marine Animal Rescue Society
Miami, FL
Dolphins Plus Oceanside Marine Mammal Responders
Key Largo, FL
Mote Marine Laboratory
Sarasota, FL
NOAA Southeast Fisheries Science Center, Miami Laboratory
Miami, FL
Northwest Florida Aquatic Preserves Office, Florida DEP
Milton, FL
SeaWorld Orlando
Orlando, FL
Volusia County
DeLand, FL
University of Florida/Cedar Key Northwest Florida Marine Mammal Stranding Program
Gainesville, FL
Georgia
Georgia Marine Mammal Stranding Hotline
Phone: (912) 269-7587
Georgia Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage Network
Phone: (912) 280-6892
Georgia Department of Natural Resources
Brunswick, GA
Louisiana
Louisiana Marine Mammal Stranding Hotline
Phone: (504) 235-3005
Louisiana Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage Network
Phone: (844) SEA-TRTL
Audubon Aquarium of the Americas
New Orleans, LA
Mississippi
Mississippi Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage Network
Phone: 844-SEA-TRTL (844-732-8785)
Institute for Marine Mammal Studies and Stranding Hotline
Gulfport, MS
Phone: (888) SOS-Dolphin (888-767-3657)
Gulf Islands National Seashore
Ocean Springs, MS
NOAA Southeast Fisheries Science Center, Pascagoula Laboratory
Pascagoula, MS
North Carolina
North Carolina Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage Network Hotline
Phone: (252) 241-7367
North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries
Morehead City, NC
Phone: (252) 241-5119
University of North Carolina–Wilmington Marine Mammal Stranding Program
Wilmington, NC
Phone: 910-515-7354
Cape Hatteras National Seashore
Manteo, NC
North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher
Fort Fisher, NC
North Carolina State College of Veterinary Medicine
Morehead City, NC
North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission - Outer Banks Center for Wildlife Education
Corolla, NC
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico Marine Mammal Stranding Hotline
Phone: (787) 538-4684 or (787) 645-5595
Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources
Santurce, PR
South Carolina
South Carolina Stranding Hotline
Phone: (800) 922-5431
Coastal Carolina University
Conway, SC
National Ocean Service Charleston Laboratory
Charleston, SC
Texas
Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network Hotline
Galveston, TX
Phone: (800) 9MAMMAL (800-962-6625)
Texas Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage Network
Phone: (866) TURTLE5 (866-887-8535)
Aransas National Wildlife Refuge
Austwell, TX
Texas State Aquarium
Corpus Christi, TX
SeaWorld San Antonio
San Antonio, TX
U.S. Virgin Islands
U.S. Virgin Islands Marine Mammal Stranding Hotline - Virgin Islands Division of Fish and Wildlife
Frederiksted, VI
Phone: (340) 713-2422
Sea Turtle Assistance and Rescue (STAR)
Christiansted, VI
Phone: (340) 690-0474
West Coast
Reporting Key
Dolphins/Whales
Sea Turtles
Seals/Sea Lions
Fish
Regional
West Coast Region Stranding Hotline
Phone: (866) 767-6114
California - Live Animal Response
Northcoast Marine Mammal Center
Counties served: Del Norte and Humboldt
Phone: (707) 951-4722
The Marine Mammal Center
Counties served: Mendocino, Sonoma, Napa, Marin, Solano, Contra Costa, Alameda, Santa Clara, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, Monterey, and San Luis Obispo
Phone: (415) 289-7350
Channel Islands Marine & Wildlife Institute
Counties served: Santa Barbara and Ventura
Phone: (805) 567-1505
California Wildlife Center
Counties served: Los Angeles – City of Malibu only
Phone: (310) 924-7256
Marine Mammal Care Center Los Angeles
Counties served: Los Angeles
Phone: (800) 399-4253
Pacific Marine Mammal Center
Counties served: Orange
Phone: (949) 494-3050
SeaWorld of California
Counties served: San Diego
Phone: (800) 541-7325
California - Dead Animal Response
California Polytechnic State University-Humboldt
Counties served: Del Norte, Humboldt, and Northern Mendocino
Phone: (707) 826-3650
California Academy of Sciences
Counties served: Southern Mendocino, Sonoma, Napa, Marin, Solano, Contra Costa, Sutter, San Joaquin, Alameda, Santa Clara, San Francisco, and San Mateo
Phone: (415) 379-5381
Long Marine Laboratory
Counties served: Santa Cruz
Phone: (831) 212-1272
Moss Landing Marine Laboratory
Counties served: Monterey
Phone: (831) 771-4422
Channel Islands Marine & Wildlife Institute
Counties served: Santa Barbara and Ventura
Phone: (805) 567-1505
Channel Islands Cetacean Research Unit
Counties served: San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura
Phone: (805) 500-6220
NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center
Counties served: San Diego
Phone: (858) 546-7162
Oregon
Portland State University/Seaside Aquarium
Areas served: all counties north of the City of Tillamook
Phone: (503) 738-6211
Oregon State University Marine Mammal Institute
Areas served: all counties south of the City of Tillamook
Phone: (541) 270-6830
Washington
Whatcom County Marine Mammal Stranding Network
Areas served: Whatcom County
Phone: (360) 966-8845
San Juan County Marine Mammal Stranding Network
Areas served: San Juan Islands
Phone: (800) 562-8832
Central Puget Sound Marine Mammal Stranding Network
Area served: Whidbey and Camano Islands, Skagit County, and North Snohomish County
Phone: (866) ORCANET
Sno-King Marine Mammal Response
Areas served: Seattle to Kayak Point
Phone: (206) 695-2277
Seal Sitters Marine Mammal Stranding Network
Areas served: West Seattle
Phone: (206) 905-7325
MaST Center Stranding Team
Areas served: Fauntleroy Ferry south to Dash Point
Phone: (206) 724-2687
Washington Department of Fisheries and Wildlife
Areas served: Pierce County, Kitsap County, and Grays Harbor and part of norther Pacific County (for pinnipeds)
Phone: (253) 208-2427
Cascadia Research Collective
Areas served: Thurston County, western shoreline of the Hood Canal to Brinnon, and the outer coast of Washington (cetaceans)
Phone: (360) 791-9555
Port Townsend Marine Science Center
Areas served: Eastern Jefferson County and part of eastern Clallam County. Port Townsend east to the Hood Canal Bridge, south to Brinnon and west to Sequim Bay also including the Miller Peninsula
Phone: (360) 385-5582 x 103
Feiro Marine Life Center
Areas served: East of Port Angeles to Makah Reservation Line
Phone: (360) 417-6254
World Vets
Areas served: Vashon and Maury Islands and emergency support for West Seattle for live and dead animal response
Provides 24 hour or less care for small pinnipeds in Washington State and can perform health assessments, stranding response and vessel support, euthanasia, necropsy, live animal stabilization, and transport services as requested
Phone: (253) 777-1775
Makah Tribe
Areas served: Makah Territory (Neah Bay, WA)
Phone: (360) 640-0569