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2020 and 2021 Combined Report of Marine Mammal Strandings in the United States

This report details marine mammal stranding rates, trends, and activities in the United States for both 2020 and 2021. In 2020, there were 5,400 confirmed marine mammal strandings; in 2021, there were 5,524.
April 03, 2024 - Feature Story ,
Alaska
New England/Mid-Atlantic
Pacific Islands
Southeast
West Coast
National
Two stranding responders carry a stranded harbor porpoise away from some rocks A harbor porpoise is retrieved from the rocks at Odiorne Point State Park, New Hampshire. Credit: Seacoast Science Center

Spring News Roundup

A roundup of recent headlines from around the agency—hear about new Hawaiian monk seal pups, environmental DNA, new fish species, killer whale diversity, and more.
March 29, 2024 - Podcast ,
National
A black and white Southern Resident killer whale leaping out of the water. The fin of another whale is visible and a boat and mountains are in the background. A Southern Resident killer whale leaps out of the water. Credit: Candace Emmons

Lost Skulls and Latin: How Scientists Chose Names for Newly Identified Killer Whale Species

A California whaler sent his manuscript to the Smithsonian, but it ended up elsewhere. Southern Resident Connections - Post 34
March 27, 2024 - Feature Story ,
West Coast
Original drawing by C.M. Scammon showing killer whale differences. California whaler Charles Melville Scammon first described the killer whales of the West Coast, and documented his observations and findings in a manuscript he sent to the Smithsonian Institution.

New Research Reveals Full Diversity of Killer Whales as Two Species Come into View on Pacific Coast

Long viewed as one worldwide species, killer whale diversity now merits more. Southern Resident Connections - Post 35
March 27, 2024 - Feature Story ,
West Coast
Side-by-side comparison of Bigg's killer on left and resident killer whale on right. Aerial images comparing the sizes of adult male Bigg’s and Resident killer whales, both taken in the Salish Sea off southern Vancouver Island. Images are scaled to lengths calculated during health research by SR3 SeaLife Response, Rehabilitation and Research. Images were collected by John Durban and Holly Fearnbach using a non-invasive drone authorized by research permit 19091 issued by the US National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS).

Women's History Month: Talking with Megan Amico

Celebrating Women’s History Month with fish biologist Megan Amico—her science journey, what she loves about her job, what advice she has for the next generation of women scientists, and more!
March 21, 2024 - Feature Story ,
New England/Mid-Atlantic
Megan Amico stands next to her painting at the World Fisheries Congress 2024 conference. The painting is an under and above water scene. Above the water, the sky is bright orange with some yellow clouds. There is a commercial lobster boat hauling up a lobster pot. Below the water is a North Atlantic right whale mother calf pair swimming under the boat.

Deaths of Young Dolphin, Humpback Calf Highlight the Importance of Responsible Boating

In February 2024, NOAA Fisheries and partners responded to a dead spinner dolphin yearling and a dead humpback whale calf in Hawaiʻi. Examinations revealed their deaths were likely due to vessel strikes.
March 07, 2024 - Feature Story ,
Pacific Islands
A mother humpback whale swims beneath its calf to support it on the ocean surface as a researcher on a nearby boat leans over the railing holding a pole underwater to assess the condition of the call. NOAA researchers with the Hawaiian Islands Humpback National Marine Sanctuary assess an injured humpback whale calf off of Maui. The calf had suspected vessel strike injuries to its tail. Credit: Pacific Whale Foundation (NOAA Fisheries Permit #24359)

A.I. Sorts Public Photos to Show Recovering Pacific Humpback Whales Hit Climate Ceiling

Happywhale.com turns hundreds of thousands of whale photos into data.
February 27, 2024 - Feature Story ,
International
Photo showing tail fluke of humpback whale named "Frosty." Photographs of humpback whale tails, identified through artificial intelligence-based image recognition much like facial recognition, allow researchers to track individual whales across oceans, revealing population growth recovering from industrial whaling — and more recently, decline from a major marine heatwave. This whale is known as “Frosty” CRC-12492, named for the snowman-shaped barnacle scars on the tail. Photo: Ted Cheeseman.

Gray Whale Stranded on La Jolla Shores Beach

The whale was in poor body condition but showed no signs of human impact.
February 27, 2024 - Feature Story ,
West Coast
A gray whale lies on a beach parallel to the shore. There are tire tracks near its head. It has barnacles on its skin and its baleen is visible. Stranded gray whale on a beach in La Jolla. Photo Credit: Lonnie Stephens, San Diego Fire-Rescue

Recent Prescott Grants Supporting Whale Conservation Partners

Our marine mammal network partners are leveraging the Prescott Grant Program's competitive grants to improve their stranding response and investigation capabilities for whale conservation.
February 26, 2024 - Feature Story ,
National
Humpback whale breaching out of the water in Maui, Hawai'i Humpback whale breaching off of Maui, Hawai’i. Credit: Ed Lyman taken under NOAA Fisheries Permit #14097

Passive Acoustic Monitoring Reveals More About Sperm Whales off Southeast New England

Study listened for sperm whales in an offshore wind energy development area.
February 21, 2024 - Feature Story ,
New England/Mid-Atlantic
Aerial view of six sperm whales grouped together in dark blue waters. Sperm whales. Credit: NOAA Fisheries