As Walter “Skip” Graf, a staff member from Mystic Aquarium’s Marine Mammal & Sea Turtle Stranding Program, looked out at the packed room in the Sachuest Point Visitor’s Center Wednesday night, he announced that this was the best turnout the Stranding Program had ever had for a volunteer training.

“We now have double the number of volunteers we’ve ever had,” said Graf, with a grin. That means he and Janelle Schuh—the two people who make up the entire full-time staff of the Stranding Program—now have as many as 300 people to call on to respond to any strandings reported along the 1,000 miles of the Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Fisher’s Island, NY, coastline they monitor. (Graf and Schuh have also conducted trainings in several Connecticut towns in the last four weeks.)

The volunteers attending the training Wednesday night received instruction on what to do if called to observe, monitor, or transport a stranded marine mammal. Graf said 20% of the stranding calls received by the Mystic hotline are located in Newport County, and most of them are seals.

In addition to observing a stranded seal, and ensuring that other people do not harass the animal, a volunteer must call Graf with information about the animal’s condition, and send photos—from the site via a smartphone, if possible.

Unfortunately, many of the stranded animals are dead, and if that is the case, Mystic will advise the volunteer what to do to remove the dead mammal.

If the stranded marine mammal is alive, monitoring the animal for as long as 24 hours is often the best option, and it is during that situation that another volunteer duty comes into play: education. “We focus on education and research,” said Graf. “It’s not just 911 for seals.”

Important information to convey to any onlookers includes:

• Keep your distance—never touch, feed, or stand over a resting seal (approaching can add to the animal's stress level, and seals do bite)
• It is normal for seals to be on land (they often rest there)
• Seals do not need to be wet constantly (do not pour water on them)
• Seals do not need to eat everyday (they go as long as three days without eating)

The types of seals most likely to be seen on local beaches include gray seals, harbor seals, harp seals, and hooded seals. An information brochure (see PDF) was provided for volunteers to distribute to onlookers.

Graf said the first stranding call of 2012 was a harbor seal in Narragansett; in 2011, the first stranding call was a striped dolphin on Sachuest Point that required two dozen volunteers to carry it. The animal was dead, and a necropsy revealed it was filled with plastic objects—monofilament fishing line and plastic containers.

By taking the training class, all volunteers will now be on call for the Stranding program. Graf said February, March, and April are the busiest times of the year for hotline calls. The next training sessions will be held in May. For information, call 860-572-5955, ext. 134, or visit the program website.

To report a live, dead or entangled marine mammal or sea turtle in Rhode Island, Connecticut, or Fisher’s Island, NY, call the Mystic Aquarium Stranding Hotline: 860-572-5955, ext. 107.

An earlier version of this article misstated the year for the striped dolphin stranding call on Sachuest Point as 2012; the correct year is 2011.