Volume III, Appendices EM - National Marine Fisheries Service ...

MARINE MAMMAL OIL SPILL RESPONSE GUIDELINES
identification number for each animal. For further details on oil sample collection consult
Appendix 6, Evidence Collection Protocol.
Domestic animals should not be permitted near the capture location nor should they come into
contact with marine mammals. Domestic animals should not be allowed in the transport vehicle,
and if the vehicle has previously been used to transport domestic animals, it should be disinfected
and cleaned prior to transporting marine mammals.
Capture: The potential benefits of capture must outweigh potential negative consequences. In
general, no rescue should be initiated on free-swimming or beached pinnipeds in the vicinity of an
oil spill unless the animal in question is in obvious distress. Also, no rescue should ever be
initiated on free-swimming cetaceans in the vicinity of an oil spill, but a rescue should be
attempted on a beached cetacean. A decision to capture should consider such factors as sex, age,
reproductive state, and size of individual animal, and their location with respect to other marine
mammals. Additionally, all captures must be approved by the appropriate trustee agency (NMFS,
FWS) prior to initiation.
Capture and transportation of oiled mammals should be performed only by qualified personnel
who have received the appropriate safety training as well as marine mammal handling and
restraint training. Because recovery and transportation duties vary with each response and may
involve more risk than other duties, the Safety Officer will communicate to the Wildlife Branch
Director what level of training is appropriate for field response personnel; this training may
include a 24-hour HAZWOPER training (Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency
Response), first aid/CPR, water safety, or boat safety courses (see Safety and Human Health).
The method of capture may vary according to species and situation. Captures should generally be
considered for isolated individuals on beaches, spits, tide flats or other relatively flat surfaces,
using herding boards and nets (brail, breakaway or steel frame pole). Less often, captures may be
attempted from rock jetties, piers, docks or even in the water for severely debilitated animals.
Long-handled dip nets, floating bag nets, and a net gun have all been used with some success.
Depending on the species involved, aquatic captures may use tangle nets, float nets, or Wilson
traps.
Unless specifically authorized by appropriate trustee agencies, no non-oiled animals will be
collected during spill incidents. Preemptive captures to prevent the oiling of sensitive species may
be considered only under dire circumstances at the direction of the UC and trustee agencies and
when adequate transport and holding facilities exist. Beached cetaceans should not be pushed
back out to sea without first being examined by a NMFS-approved marine mammal veterinarian
and the action approved by the NMFS. Prior to being returned to the open ocean, cetaceans
should be affixed with a NMFS approved tag or brand.
All wildlife captured during spill responses should if at all possible be retrieved and transported to
the wildlife processing and care center(s), regardless of the status and condition (i.e. degree of
decomposition, degree of oiling). In addition, all capture-related information (i.e. location, name
of captor, GPS decimal degree coordinates, date, and time) must accompany the animal to the
facility. The presence of such documentation must be verified when processing centers receive
wildlife from the Wildlife Recovery and Transportation Group. All information necessary to
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