NOAA Fisheries works with a diverse network of independent organizations as well as local, tribal, state, and federal agencies to oversee and coordinate emergency response for stranded or entangled marine mammals. The Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program coordinates emergency response and investigations for sick, injured, entangled, or dead seals, sea lions, dolphins, porpoises, and whales. Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Several programs are in place to ensure timely response and data collection for entangled, sick, or injured animals, as well as those that have been found dead at sea or on the shoreline. Whether it’s a cold-stunned sea turtle in New England, a sick monk seal on a beach in Hawaii, or an entangled whale off the coast of California, NOAA and our partners work together to respond to marine animals in distress along every coast of the United States. Learn more about what you can do and how to report Always keep a safe distance-it’s good advice, and it's the law. Reporting a sick, injured, entangled, or dead animal is the best way to ensure that professional authorized responders and scientists know about the incident and can take appropriate action. Only trained and authorized responders should assist marine animals in distress. Their reactions may be unpredictable, and it can be dangerous to try to touch or move them. They could have been exposed to pollution or a natural toxin, entangled in fishing gear, struck by a vessel, or infected by a disease or parasite. These wild animals may be sick, injured, disoriented, or starving. But that is likely not be the best option for the animal or the person trying to help. Understandably, when most people see a dolphin or a sea turtle that appears to be in trouble, the first impulse is to try to rescue it. You may come across animals in distress-entangled in marine debris or fishing gear, sick, or injured-or dead. Unfortunately, not all marine life you may encounter will be healthy. Seeing marine animals in their natural habitat can be exciting.
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