The Noyo Center for Marine Science is celebrating its tenth year in operation. A stranded blue whale back in 2009 was the impetus for creating the center. Each year, Sarah Grimes, the Stranding Coordinator for Noyo Center presents the annual findings. She works under a permit through the California Academy of Sciences.
Before the Noyo Center, animals stranded on Mendocino beaches fell to teams from Humboldt or Sonoma.
Since 2014, the Noyo Center has documented the stranding of 18 whales, 8 dolphins, 6 porpoises, and hundreds of pinnipeds.
In 2024, one of the more notable strandings was a juvenile female Fin whale. Fin whales are on the endangered species list. The whale was first sighted on the beach between Ward Ave and Ten Mile River. Later it washed up a second time at Ward Ave.
There was evidence to suggest the whale died from a ship strike. A NOAA report on Fin Whale populations along the Pacific Coast estimates that between 43 and 95 fin whales die from ship strikes each year. The estimated total population on the Pacific Coast per NOAA is approximately 11,000.
There were 40 pinnipeds identified on Mendocino beaches. The pinniped family includes California Sea Lions and various types of seals including Harbor, Elephant, and Fur Seals.
Finally, three dolphins and one porpoise washed ashore, including a Pacific White-sided Dolphin.
Each stranded animal is documented and many undergo necropsies to inform the scientific community.
The live dolphin did not survive the transport to the Marine Mammal Center. Another particularly sad incident involved a California sea lion pup named Pipoca. Pipoca had been rescued earlier in the spring and rehabilitated at the Marine Mammal Center. He was released back into the wild, but unfortunately, he lasted only about six weeks before washing ashore.
Sue Pemberton, the stranding coordinator for Marin, San Francisco, and San Mateo talks about the importance of California Sea Lions as an indicator species for the Pacific Coast and the troubles they had this year with births and undersized pups.
Photo of a Noyo Center presentation slide
