The Marine Mammal Stranding Center has responded to 6,043 marine mammals and sea turtles in distress throughout the State of New Jersey since 1978. MMSC’s work is ongoing, responding to animals in dire need of assistance 24 hours per day, 365 days per year. Each stranding requires our organization’s expertise in finding the best way to rescue these animals, or in the case of animals already deceased, find the reason why they died. The needs have grown with the increase in annual calls for stranded animals suffering from a variety of life-threatening conditions. Last year in 2022, our staff responded to 156 marine mammals and sea turtles ashore. To date, in 2023, MMSC has responded to 161 strandings, including 52 dolphins, 52 sea turtles, 43 seals and 14 whales. With the early arrival of the seals in New Jersey this year, we expect that number to increase during the final two months of this year. In addition, we are entering the busy “cold-stunning” for sea turtles, when these fragile animals find themselves in peril as the ocean water temperatures drop and will urgently require our team’s quick actions to rescue and stabilize them for transport.

Recent whale strandings have put a spotlight on the important work that we have been doing for the past 45 years. Our organization continues to be on the front line as the first responders during the recent increase in whale and dolphin strandings that began in December 2022. As a member of the Greater Atlantic Marine Mammal Stranding Network, we are the boots on the ground in New Jersey responding to these heartbreaking events and working around the clock to help find the answers by performing necropsies and collecting critical biological samples. The forensic evidence collected by our team is the first step in many that will bring us closer to understanding why we are seeing so many whale strandings along the East Coast.

Many members of the public do not realize that this work comes at a financial cost, as our organization is billed for laboratory expenses including necropsies, diagnostic testing, and carcass disposal. As part of our stranding agreement, we are required to collect this critical data, however these costs are not covered in full by any government entity. In 2023, our laboratory expenses more than doubled, from $6,840 to $15,622.

The Marine Mammal Stranding Center does not receive a consistent source of funding at the State or Federal level. Although we are eligible to apply annually to a competitive Federal grant opportunity, we are never guaranteed to have our proposal funded. If awarded, funding has historically been capped at $100,000, which covers less than 14% of MMSC’s annual operating budget. Our work is funded through donations from the public, grants, fundraising events, and gift shop sales. The Marine Mammal Stranding Center is, and has always been, a private non-profit organization, performing its work without financial or political influence from any other outside organizations or corporate entities. We value transparency, as evidenced by our full financial records on the counter in our Sea Life Museum, as well as providing the public with access to necropsy findings and stranding data through MMSC’s website.

In these challenging times, donations are not keeping up with our ever-growing expenses. When you donate to the Marine Mammal Stranding Center, you are supporting life-saving work for marine mammals and sea turtles. Without MMSC and your support, there would be no other options for sick and injured animals that strand in New Jersey, these animals would simply be left to die on the beach. Without your help, there would be no response to deceased animals, and therefore no scientific examinations to help determine why these fragile species are dying along our shores.

The animals need YOU.

Funds raised during Giving Tuesday will help provide the tools, supplies and equipment that ensure a quick response to animals in need, help us save as many animals as we can, and allow us to collect critical data on those who were not able to be saved. Our hands do the work, but you are the heart of the Marine Mammal Stranding Center's mission: the Rescue, Rehabilitation, and Release of the sick and injured marine mammals and sea turtles of New Jersey.

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