Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center Stranding Response Program

Founded in the early 1991 by marine biologist Mark Swingle in the wake of bottlenose dolphin mass strandings in 1989, the Stranding Response Program at the Virginia Aquarium has become a lifeline for marine mammals and sea turtles along the Atlantic coast and Chesapeake Bay. Over the past decades, the team – consisting of volunteers only until 1994 – has responded to more than 10,000 strandings, ranging from harbor seals and bottlenose dolphins to endangered sea turtles.

With a dedicated network of volunteers and partners, they  respond to over 300 strandings a year, providing emergency care and coordinating rehabilitation efforts with partner facilities. Additionally they assist with necropsies on deceased marine mammals, including large whales, to contribute data to conservation science. All those efforts are now housed in the Darden Marine Animal Conservation Center with holding pools and triage spaces for seals, examination rooms and laboratory space.

While seals are not commonly found in Virginia year-round, the Virginia Aquarium’s Stranding Response Program actively monitors and responds to harbor seal strandings and sightings during the winter months, when these animals increasingly migrate south along the Atlantic coast.

Beyond rescue, the program is a powerful educational force, turning each stranding into a moment to teach the public about marine threats like entanglement, pollution, and vessel strikes.