Satellite Teams: Strengthening QMMERN’s Response Capacity across Quebec’s Vast Territory

Quebec represents an enormous swath of territory to cover for the QMMERN: it’s simply impossible to be everywhere all the time! This is why, since 2012, the QMMERN has developed a broad network of volunteers to help it respond to cases involving marine mammal carcasses or animals that are stranded or in distress.

Whether they’re cetacean enthusiasts, professionals or retirees with extra time on their hands, volunteers are often the first ones on the scene when there’s an incident involving a marine mammal. Thanks to their presence along Quebec’s extensive coastline, they’re a tremendous help to the mobile intervention teams and the QMMERN.

The two mobile teams located on the north and south shores of the St. Lawrence Estuary are made up of technicians. They handle cases that require a higher level of expertise, e.g. returning a stray seal to its normal habitat or transporting a humpback whale carcass. Even if they are supported by volunteers, these teams of professionals cannot travel throughout Quebec. This is where the satellite teams come in!

Satellite teams provide a great deal of additional support to mobile teams. They mainly deal with cases involving beached carcasses in their regions. Thanks to the support of the Marine Mammal Response Program of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Marine Mammal Emergencies was able to acquire the necessary equipment to equip and train satellite teams to carry out documentation, sampling and carcass recovery. This material is also used to respond to marine mammals in distress. Coordinated responses throughout Quebec translate into a better overview of marine mammal strandings and incidents while providing managers and scientists with valuable data on cetacean and pinniped populations.