Mystic Aquarium partners with Save the Bay to speed up rescues


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NEWPORT – The Save the Bay Exploration Center and Aquarium at Easton’s Beach is now one of the many locations where Mystic Aquarium stores equipment to aid in the rescue of marine mammals that may be stranded.

Equipment caches hold essential supplies and equipment including large kennels, fences, signage, tape measure, safety vests, and brochures. When an animal is reported to the Animal Rescue Program hotline, staff can now contact volunteer first responders to retrieve these items to protect the animals before rescue personnel arrive.

Following:Risso’s little dolphin dies Monday on Easton beach after rare stranding

Each year, the rescue program responds to an average of 181 animals in its coverage area. In Newport, one of the busiest areas, the rescue team responded to 18 animals in 2019.

Sarah Callan, deputy director of the animal rescue program at Mystic Aquarium, said these equipment caches will speed up the response process, so that responders who live in the Newport area can access these essential items in a timely manner. instead of having to go. at the aquarium, collect the equipment, then return to Newport.

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“It can take a long time, so it has really speeded up our response time to stranded marine mammals that are in the Newport area,” she said.

Stored equipment caches have already proven to be useful.

“We have had recent dolphin strandings over the last few months in Newport, so this is just one example of where these gear caches can be really useful, as we are able to create a barrier around that dolphin and to keep the animal and people safe until we get there, ”Callan said.

Following:Two dolphins were found stranded off Newport days apart. Why?

Save the Bay, she said, was a big help to the rescue team.

“We actually had a Risso calf stranded right outside their facility in Easton’s Beach,” she said. “It was probably about a month ago, and we had just dropped the gear cache a few weeks ago, so it was the perfect timing.”

A sick Risso's dolphin ran aground Monday, September 6, 2021 on Easton Beach and could not be rescued.  The dolphin was euthanized on the beach and returned to the Mystic Aquarium, where a full autopsy is expected to determine the cause of his death.

The Risso’s dolphin did not survive, but even if a stranded animal is healthy, Callan said rescuers would still use the equipment cache to keep it safe, as people are not expected to be within 150 feet of an animal on the beach, in accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

“We really want to make sure that we follow these guidelines and keep people away from the animal, so that the animal is not stressed and can get the rest it needs, and people can stay in. safety, because sometimes animals carry … diseases, and you don’t want your pets and people to get too close sometimes, ”she said.

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Before having a place to store the equipment, Callan said, depending on the day, it could take anywhere from an hour to two hours for responders to get to Newport.

Having these caches in place helps start the process and get responders to where the animal is stuck.

“They can really focus on the animal and send us important information about the behavior they are seeing and send videos or photos that can help with our assessment so that we can see that before we can even get there,” she said.

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Each equipment cache costs around $ 200, Callan said. Funding for the gear caches was made possible by the John H. Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue Grant program, and the aquarium distributed 10 gear caches to various facilities and municipalities.

“Even growing up in this area, I didn’t realize how much marine life was offshore, so we have dolphins, whales, seals and sea turtles sharing the shore with us,” said Callan. “So it’s very important that we give them the space they need.”

Bethany Brunelle can be reached at [email protected] 907-575-8528 or @bethanyfreuden1 on Twitter, Insta: bethanyfreudenthal, TikTok: thehijabicrimereporter, Muckrack: https://muckrack.com/bethany-freudenthal


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