SAVE THE VAQUITA - Aquarium of the Pacific and AZA

The Aquarium of the Pacific along with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) have teamed up to help save the world’s most endangered marine mammal, the vaquita porpoise.

Vaquita populations have declined to extremely low levels with an estimated 30 animals remaining. This is down from an estimate of 60 only one year ago. In order to protect the last remaining vaquita, it has been determined that ex situ conservation, or collecting and bringing the remaining few vaquita into a protected sanctuary, is an urgent and necessary course of action. Experts from the eighth meeting of the Comité Internacional para la Recuperación de la Vaquita (CIRVA 8) have determined that current conservation actions are happening too slowly and that this effort is needed to protect the remaining vaquita. Vaquita are rare and shy animals. They avoid boat noise and will prove difficult to locate and capture. To support this effort, the Mexican Government has solicited the United States Navy to use trained US Navy dolphins to support the location and collection of vaquita. This invitation has been accepted and plans are underway to develop the protocols and personnel that will be needed to accomplish this task and all of the other components of the project. 

This effort will be difficult, and while all necessary experts are being engaged, nothing like this has ever been attempted. However, there are no viable alternatives left for the vaquita. If we don’t do this now and continue to establish conservation measures within their native habitat, the vaquita will go extinct in as little as three years. We cannot let this happen.

AZA, along with a number of zoos and aquariums, are supporting this vaquita rescue plan, but we need your help. Collectively we have been able to generate only about half of the one million dollars needed to begin making preparations for the vaquita rescue. We have until the end of the month to raise the remaining support. Will you help? A donation of any amount will help to make this happen. 

https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/safevaquita

To learn more about the rescue effort go to VaquitaCPR.org.
 

Dr. Thomas D. Williams - June 20, 1941 - January 26, 2017

See obituary and life story at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/montereyherald/obituary.aspx?page=lifestory&pid=183949169

Minutes of the 2016 IAAAM Business Meeting

The minutes of the IAAAM Business meeting held in May of 2016 during the annual conference are now available on the IAAAM Meeting Minutes page.

2016 Mark Keyes Award for Marine Mammal Conservation

The IAAAM Executive Board was pleased to award Dr. Frances Gulland with the Mark Keyes Award for Marine Mammal Conservation at the 47th Conference in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Dr. Gulland, Senior Scientist at The Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, CA and Commissioner at the Marine Mammal Commission has been a leader in the fields of marine mammal medicine, research and conservation since 1994. Dr. Gulland has published over 100 peer-reviewed manuscripts on marine mammals and is coeditor of the CRC Handbook of Marine Mammal Medicine. She is a Past-President of IAAAM and has served as Chair of the Working Group on Marine Mammal Unusual Mortality Events and as a member of the Hawaiian Monk Seal Recovery Team. In 2011 Dr. Gulland was appointed by President Obama to serve as one of the Commissioners of the Marine Mammal Commission and since her appointment has been a leader in recovery efforts for the critically endangered vaquita and Mekong River dolphin. Congratulations Frances! 

Dr. Katie Colgrove presents the Mark Keyes Award for 2016 to Dr. Frances Gulland.

New IAAAM Board

During the IAAAM business meeting on Sunday, May 22nd, the IAAAM Board changed slightly after a unanimous vote. Your IAAAM Board members are

Past President - Lisa Murphy (new)
President - Pam Tuomi (new)
President-Elect - Martin Haulena (new)
Treasurer - Tonya Clauss
Secretary - Michael S. Renner
Board Member for Membership - Hendrik Nollens (new)
Board Member for Education - Kathleen Colegrove
Board Member for Communications - Michael B Briggs

2016 Student Travel Award Winners

The IAAAM Student Liaison Committee is pleased to announce the five awardees for the 2016 Student Travel Award Competition: 

• Dr. Laura Thompson, a post-doctoral fellow at Mystic Aquarium, for her work: Complement Activitation in Belugas (Delphinapterus leucas) and Harbor Seals (Phoca vitulina) in Response to Nitrogen Bubbles; Evidence of a Less Reactive Immune Response in Deep vs. Shallow Diving Marine Mammals
• Dr. Susan Fogelson, a Ph.D. student at the University of Georgia, for her work: In Vitro Antimicrobial Susceptibilities of Genomically Characterized Aquatic Mycobacterium chelonae-abscessus Complex Isolates
• Dr. Molly Martony, the veterinary intern at the National Marine Mammal Foundation & Sea World San Diego, for her work: Establishing Marginal Lymph Node Ultrasonographic Characteristics in Healthy Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus)
• Megan Strobel, a veterinary student at the University of Florida, for her work: Auditory Evoked Potentials and Behavioral Considerations with Hearing Loss in Small Cetaceans: Application as a Standard Diagnostic Test In Health Assessment
• Dr. Estelle Rousselet, a veterinary resident at the University of Florida, for her work: Clinicopathological Findings and Immune Function in Florida Manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris)

The Student Liaison Committee congratulates the awardees and we look forward to seeing their presentations at our upcoming conference! 

USDA Extends Comment Period for Marine Mammal Proposed Rule

USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is extending the deadline for submitting comments on the proposed rule to amend the Animal Welfare Act’s regulations and standards concerning the humane care, handling, and treatment of marine mammals in captivity. We will now accept comments for an additional 30 days – until May 4, 2016. 

The Animal Welfare Act sets basic standards for humane care and treatment that must be provided for certain animals used in certain activities – including marine mammals used for public exhibition or biomedical research. The current standards for marine mammals were established in 1998. Our proposed changes are based on recently documented scientific studies, and our goal is to better ensure humane handling and treatment of marine mammals in a way that is practical and enforceable. As we developed this rule, we considered information from professional organizations, exhibitors, hundreds of public comments and published scientific studies – as well as the combined experience of our marine mammal experts. 
 
The proposed rule can be viewed here. A factsheet in question-and-answer format can be viewed here. You can submit your comments regarding this rule here. 

Special Issue of the Journal of Wildlife Diseases on Wildlife Welfare

In an effort to advance wildlife welfare, the staff of the Journal of Wildlife Diseases has provided FREE ACCESS to a special issue on Wildlife Welfare - JWD 52(2) - to all members of AAWV, AAZV, and IAAAM, even those who are not WDA members. A couple of the articles are related to aquatic species (green sea turtles and fish anesthesia) which may be of interest to you.

The instructions for accessing this issue are located in the Member's Only Services area of the IAAAM website. You must be a current member of IAAAM with a password to access the website.

Proposed Rule for Standards of Care for Marine Mammals in Captivity

In case you missed last week’s marine mammal stakeholder teleconference, we wanted to provide a toll-free number to listen to the recorded call:  855-558-0656.  The recording will be available for 30 days from the date of the original call.  

The marine mammal proposed rule was also published in the Federal Register today so I wanted to provide a link to the rule, which is now available for public comment: http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=APHIS-2006-0085-0001

The comment period closes on April 4, 2016.

Thanks,
Hallie Zimmers
Adviser for State and Stakeholder Relations
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

USDA Requests Comment on Proposed Rule for Standards of Care for Marine Mammals in Captivity

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is inviting public comments on a proposed rule to amend the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) concerning the humane handling, care and treatment of marine mammals in captivity.  The proposed rule will be available for comment for 60 days.  

The Animal Welfare Act (AWA) sets basic standards for humane care and treatment that must be provided for certain animals including marine mammals that are used in exhibition or research.  The current standards for marine mammals were put in place in 1998.  The proposed changes are based on recent documented scientific data and studies to better ensure humane handling and treatment of marine mammals in a way that is practical and enforceable.  As it developed this proposed rule, APHIS considered information from professional organizations, hundreds of public comments, exhibitors and published scientific studies, as well as the agency’s own experience with marine mammals.

The rule proposes the following changes to the standards:

• requiring appropriate pool exit and entry areas for pinnipeds, polar bears, and sea otters to make it easier for older or infirm animals to access dry spaces;
• strengthening the requirements for an entity to receive a variance to the standards, including requiring a report from two APHIS-selected experts, if needed;
• maintaining current performance-based standards for water temperature, while allowing for adjustments to be made based on animal health and published scientific data;
• establishing new standards to address air quality problems at indoor facilities;
• reducing allowable bacteria counts in water to improve water quality;
• expanding recommended air and water temperature standards at outdoor facilities to include all marine mammal species; 
• requiring full spectrum lighting appropriate to the animals’ natural environments as well as accessible and sufficient shade for all animals; 
• clarifying that, in addition to specific requirements in section 3.111, all in-water interactive programs must comply with AWA regulations and standards; and
• increasing allowable time for interaction between marine mammals and the general public from 2 to 3 hours and requiring at least 10 continuous hours without public interaction.

The proposed rule is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register where it will be available for public comment beginning Wednesday, February 3.