November 13, 2026 — NOAA Fisheries released the 2025 Report of Marine Mammal Strandings in the United States. In 2025, there were a total of 8,058 confirmed cetacean (whale, dolphin, and porpoise) and pinniped (seal, fur seal, and sea lion) strandings in the United States. This number is higher than the 2006–2024 average (6,422 + 1,159). A significant harmful algal bloom off southern California in early 2025 resulted in elevated strandings of sick and dead marine mammals (primarily California sea lions and common dolphins).
This is the seventh installment in a series of annual stranding reports compiled by the Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program. Overviews for previous calendar years are also available:
What is a Stranding?
A marine mammal is considered stranded if it meets one of the following criteria:
- Dead, whether on the beach or floating in the water
- Alive, on a beach, but unable to return to the water
- Alive, on a beach, and in need of apparent medical attention
- Alive, in the water, and unable to return to its natural habitat without assistance
Not all pinnipeds on the beach are stranded. Seals, fur seals, and sea lions spend time on the beach to rest, molt, and breed.
Responding to stranding events is essential to minimize public health and safety risks from stranded marine mammals, support animal welfare, and gather data to inform science, management tools and decisions, and law enforcement investigations.
Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries