Marine mammals of maine (mmome) requests prescott funding to respond to, treat, and collect and analyze data from living and dead stranded marine mammals

Marine Mammals of Maine (MMOME) received a $128,066 Project Grant award from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) under the Marine Mammal Data Program (CFDA 11.439) for the period January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2026. The award funds critical stranding response, treatment, and data collection services for living and deceased stranded marine mammals across coastal Maine from Kittery to Rockland. MMOME serves as the sole stranding response provider for this region and operates one of only two rehabilitation centers in the Northeast currently capable of providing care for dependent pinnipeds.

The funded services include emergency response and treatment of stranded pinnipeds and cetaceans, biological sampling and necropsy examinations of deceased animals, infectious disease monitoring and data management, reporting to regional and national databases, community outreach and volunteer training, and capacity building initiatives. These services directly address multiple unusual mortality events (UMEs) currently affecting pinniped and cetacean populations in this region, which has been designated as an epicenter for pinniped UMEs and represents one of the busiest areas for pinniped strandings on the U.S. East Coast. The award represents the fifth consecutive year of funding for MMOME under NOAA's Marine Mammal Data Program, with cumulative grants totaling over $1 million since 2021.

Mmome is the sole organization providing stranding response from kittery to rockland, maine, and serves as one of only two rehab centers in the northeast currently providing care for dependent pinnipeds. This region has been the epicenter of several recent pinniped unusual mortality events (umes) and represents one of the busiest areas for pinniped strandings on the east coast of the US. Additionally, this region is currently experiencing three large whale umes, and cetacean strandings in this region have been increasing since 2019.