antibodies to distemper had been found in blood 
serum from a harbor seal that had been rehabilitated 
at the Aquarium. The Aquarium then ran tests on 
serum samples from other recently stranded harbor 
seals and found antibodies to distemper in 14 of 41 
samples. None of the animals, however, had clinical 
signs of acute distemper. 
Early in February 1992 the OKEANOS Ocean 
Research Foundation in Long Island, New York, 
informed the National Marine Fisheries Service that a 
stranded harbor seal had been found with an active 
clinical case of distemper. 
Although a number of additional seals have been 
found with distemper, there has not been a massive 
die-off like the one that occurred in the North Sea in 
1988. As a precautionary measure, the National 
Marine Fisheries Service has required that all rehabili- 
tated seals be tested for phocine distemper. Those 
testing positive for the virus are not to be released 
back into the wild. The Service also has contracted 
for a study to analyze serum samples collected from 
seals since 1972 to determine if the phocine distemper 
virus may have been present in seals along the U.S. 
coast, but not causing a discernible problem. 
Marine Mammal Stranding Network 
and Tissue Bank 
In 1977 the Commission sponsored a workshop on 
Marine mammal strandings. Subsequently, the Na- 
tional Marine Fisheries Service has worked with 
public display facilities, museums, and other inter- 
ested organizations and individuals to establish volun- 
teer programs for reporting and responding to marine 
mammal strandings in each of its management re- 
gions. These regional stranding networks have been 
responsible for identifying and initiating the investiga- 
tions of all unusual marine mammal mortality events 
in U.S. waters since the late 1970s. 
Following the unusually high bottlenose dolphin 
mortality that occurred along the U.S. mid-Atlantic 
coast in 1987-1988, the National Marine Fisheries 
Service constituted an ad hoc group of experts to 
provide advice on ways that the stranding networks 
147 
Chapter VI — Marine Mammal Strandings and Die-Offs 
and responses to unusual mortalities might be im- 
proved. At the same time, the Service undertook a 
comprehensive review of the structure and operation 
of the Regional Marine Mammal Stranding Networks. 
Based upon its review and the advice of the ad hoc 
group of experts, the Service has taken a number of 
steps to improve operation of the networks. For 
example, procedures for authorizing individuals and 
organizations to participate in the regional networks 
have been standardized. Further, general reporting 
and performance standards have been established. 
In 1992 the Service contracted for the development 
of a field manual to guide responses to marine mam- 
mal strandings. As noted in Chapter X, the Commis- 
sion provided funds to illustrate this guide. 
National Marine Mammal Tissue Bank 
During the investigation of the bottlenose dolphin 
die-off in 1987-1988, it became clear that there were 
inadequate baseline data and no source of tissues that 
could be analyzed to determine pre-existing levels of 
anthropogenic contaminants and natural biotoxins 
present in the population prior to the die-off. To 
begin to overcome this problem, the National Marine 
Fisheries Service took steps in 1989 to establish a 
National Marine Mammal Tissue Bank. To ensure the 
utility of the bank, the Service established an ad hoc 
group of experts to overview its development. Based 
upon advice provided by the group, the Service has 
(1) established basic protocols for collecting, prepar- 
ing, storing, and accessing tissue samples; (2) con- 
ducted a pilot program to test the protocols; and 
(3) initiated studies to determine whether the levels of 
various contaminants present in tissues vary with time 
or according to the part of the body from which the 
tissue samples are taken. 
Recognizing the important need to improve both 
the tissue bank and the stranding network, the Service 
developed and in October 1992 published a program 
development plan for the National Marine Mammal 
Tissue Bank and Stranding Network Program. The 
plan describes the basic objectives, components, and 
policies of both programs. 
