The Aquarium is a regional and international leader in the quest to improve the health of the world's oceans. We participate in a variety of cooperative programs, and have initiated many programs of our own to help preserve the health of our oceans.
The Marine Animal Rescue Program (MARP) is the cornerstone of the Aquarium's ocean health initiative. MARP rescues, rehabilitates, and releases marine animals.
MARP has successfully rescued, treated, and returned seals, dolphins, porpoises, pilot whales, pygmy sperm whales, sea turtles, and a manatee to their natural habitats—led by only a handful of paid staff and a network of well-trained volunteers.
The stories of the animals are extraordinary, and the triumph of returning a healthy animal to the wild is the reason that MARP volunteers dedicated 5,000 hours just last year, and tens of thousands of hours in the years since MARP’s inception.
Education and Outreach
While we share in the triumph of returning a healthy animal to the wild, our larger success is determined by our ability to convey each animal’s story to the public, to help our communities understand the global implications of their day-to-day actions, and to educate them to take positive actions.
Partnerships
Additionally, data are collected and shared with organizations around the world in an effort to better understand animals that are still very much a mystery to modern science. MARP volunteers meticulously record:
- The physical condition of animals when rescued
- Daily observations, both scientific and subjective, as the animals recover in our facilities
- Tracking data, whenever possible, of the path of animals following their release.
Watch MARP in action as the team treats a loggerhead sea turtle.
