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

MARINE MAMMAL OIL SPILL RESPONSE GUIDELINES
may not be synonymous with or sufficient for the temperature and ventilation needs of the
transported marine mammals.
Beached Carcass Removal
Measures must be taken to ensure that dead animals are appropriately collected, identified,
documented, and not disposed of until approved by the trustees. In addition, the prompt removal
of disabled and dead oiled and unoiled animals from the environment can be critical to minimize
the occurrence of secondary oiling, poisoning of predators and scavengers, and decreasing reidentification
of carcasses on subsequent days. Since it is not feasible, reliable, or practical to
attempt to discriminate between spill-related and non-spill-related casualties while conducting
beach surveys, all carcasses must be collected. For example, scavenged carcasses, animals with
dark plumage, wet carcasses, or carcasses with oil sheen or small amounts of oil that may be spill
related are not always identifiable in the field as such. Because all carcasses found within a spill
area are evidence, they must be handled according to established chain of custody protocols in
accordance with spill incident-specific instructions (refer to the Data Collection section of this
document). Each carcass must be labeled with the date, time, location, species (if known), and
collector’s name; taken to a designated morgue location; logged into the Dead Marine Mammal
Log form and placed in a refrigerated unit until further processing can be accomplished. If a
necropsy cannot be performed within 24hrs the carcass should be frozen (see Disposition Section
for necropsy details).
Carcass removal, storage, and disposal expenses are considered a response activity cost that
should be reimbursed to the Stranding Network Participant. It is the responsibility of the
Participant to notify the Unified Command of current and future carcass storage and disposal
expenses during the initial cost assessment of the response activity.
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