MARS have operated a stranding records database for Nova Scotia since 1990 and we have just started collaborating with the New Brunswick Museum and the Atlantic Veterinarian College in PEI to compile records of all cetacean strandings in the Maritime Provinces. This database is essential for monitoring mortality and distribution of cetaceans in the waters around the Maritime Provinces.
To date our Maritime database contains over 600 strandings records. The database contains biological information on each stranding reported to us. The basic data we record are:
- What species is it?
- How many animals stranded?
- What sex is the animal?
- What length is the animal?
We also try to obtain the following:
- photographs of the stranding
- any other details
- details of any signs of human interactions
