SUMMARY OF RESCUE, REHABILITATION AND RELEASE OF CETACEANS FROM THE CLEARWATER MARINE AQUARIUM FROM 1993 THROUGH JANUARY 2001

摘要

The Clearwater Marine Aquarium (CMA) has been a dedicated member of the Southeast United States (SEUS) Stranding Network since 1979. CMA is one of the few facilities on the west coast of Florida that holds a Letter of Authorization (LO A) from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to respond to marine mammal stranding events. CMA's Marine Animal Stranding Response Team is on call around the clock and consists of biologists, animal handlers, trainers, veterinarians, and more than 85 specially trained volunteers. Over the years, the team has responded to more than 300 marine mammal stranding events and has worked with a wide variety of cetacean species. Chances of completely rehabilitating a live cetacean are slim, but several of our attempts have been successful, culminating in release and post-release monitoring. Through post-release monitoring, CMA strives to collect data that would provide information about the effectiveness of rehabilitation techniques and to gain clues about the animals' life history, ecology, range, etc.