BC Marine Mammal Response Network
Please report all marine mammals found dead or in distress. A toll-free reporting hotline is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by calling: 1-800-465-4336.
Straitwatch is a member of the BC Marine Mammal Response Network (BCMMRN). The BCMMRN works toward the conservation
and protection of marine mammals and sea turtles in BC waters. Our goal is to help distressed marine mammals, and collect data from dead ones. We also keep track of threats such as disease outbreaks,
inappropriate or illegal human activity, contamination, disturbance, vessel strikes, and entanglements.
In doing so, our network supports scientific research, and conservation recovery efforts.
Although Fisheries & Oceans Canada (DFO) is the 
governing agency with the authority for the
protection and management of marine mammals and sea turtles in Canada, the BCMMRN is a
collaborative program between government agencies, research, conservation and outreach groups,
wildlife rescue organizations and BC citizens. Together we respond to reports of dead, injured, sick, and harassed marine mammals.
As a fairly new program, BCMMRN is looking for members and primary responders who are willing to assist in response efforts in their local communities. These efforts may include simply taking and submitting photos of a dead carcass, or perhaps even helping a live animal in distress. In this way, local communities will be helping to collect valuable data that will directly assist individual animals and their populations.
If you, or your organization, are interested in becoming a member and primary responder in the British Columbia Marine Mammal Response Network, please contact Lisa Spaven, Marine Mammal Response Coordinator for more information.
Mail: Lisa Spaven, Pacific Biological Station, 3190 Hammond Bay Road, Nanaimo BC V9T 6N7
Email: Lisa.Spaven(at)dfo-mpo.gc.ca
Phone: (250) 756-7230