Justin Cox
Velcro Star Eating a Spotted Ratfish in the ...

Check out this velcro star with a spotted ratfish locked in a full nelson! SeaDoc Society scientists Joe Gaydos and Cat Lo came across this scene during a research dive in Howe Sound in British Columbia.

Justin Cox
Training The Trainers at Camp Orkila

Thousands of fifth-graders will cycle through Camp Orkila on Orcas Island this summer to engage with our marine ecosystem. As we round the corner into Spring, the counselors who will guide those kids (5,800 total!) are deep in preparation and training. 

Last week, our team was honored to lead a low-tide beach walk at Camp Orkila to train this year’s Orkila staff. All of the counselors received a signed copy of our best-selling (and award-winning!) book for fifth graders, Explore the Salish Sea: A Nature Guide for Kids. 

Training The Trainers at Camp Orkila
Justin Cox
Rochelle Severson and Kevin Campion Cycle off ...

After a decade of service on the SeaDoc Society’s Board of Directors, Rochelle Severson and Kevin Campion will cycle off, with Board Member Ardi Kveven taking over as Board Chair.

Justin Cox
Farewell Southern Resident IPA & Thank You ...

As I write this, sitting in The Woods taproom where Southern Resident is brewed, Two Beers has donated more than $15,000 in support of the SeaDoc Society’s collaborative work to save Southern Residents. 

Not to mention the story they’ve helped tell on thousands of boxes and cans sold throughout the Pacific Northwest over the last five years. In that initial creative design phase, their team was insistent that the whales’ story and SeaDoc’s mission be clear and prominent on the packaging. 

Farewell Southern Resident IPA & Thank You Two Beers Brewing
Justin Cox
Why are Killer Whales Harassing and Killing ...

For decades, fish-eating killer whales in the Pacific Northwest have been observed harassing and even killing porpoises without consuming them—a perplexing behavior that has long intrigued scientists.

A study published today in Marine Mammal Science, co-led by Deborah Giles of Wild Orca and Sarah Teman of the SeaDoc Society, a program of the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, looked at more than 60 years of recorded interactions between Southern Resident killer whales and porpoises in the Salish Sea to better understand why they exhibit this behavior.

Why are Killer Whales Harassing and Killing Porpoises Without Eating Them?

vancouver aquairum

Freeing Entangled Sea Lions from Discarded Human Trash

By Justin Cox

Surveys in British Columbia have documented hundreds of sea lions entangled by discarded human trash and derelict fishing gear, according to the Vancouver Aquarium. Similar numbers are estimated along the West Coast of the United States.

Wildlife Veterinarian and SeaDoc Director Dr. Joe Gaydos has been working with Dr. Marty Haulena, lead veterinarian at the Vancouver Aquarium, Kristin Wilkinson and others at NOAA Fisheries, and a team including other veterinarians, wildlife officials and biologists to bring this tool to Washington and Oregon.

On a recent trip to Bodeltah Islands off the coast of Washington, the team disentangled two affected sea lions, the first animals to be disentangled in Washington. After viewing multiple entangled animals, the team was able to identify several good candidates, sedate them, remove the packing straps that had entangled them, and then reverse the anesthetic and recover them safely.

“We’re excited to be bringing this safe, but technically challenging technique into Washington,” said Gaydos.” Disentanglement not only improves the welfare of the animals we help, but also enables us to collect data needed to identify the main items entangling sea lions so we can help manufacturers alter their production and stop the entanglement cycle.”

This work was done under the Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program Permit #18786. Read more about the team’s work and check out more cool photos on the Aquarium’s Aquablog. 

 
 

Banner photo: wildlife veterinarians Lesanna Lahner (Emerald Waters), Joe Gaydos (SeaDoc Society), and Martin Haulena (Vancouver Aquarium) work to disentangle an immobilized California sea lion (NMFS Permit #18786).