The Maryland Department of Natural Resources asks residents and visitors enjoying coastal and tidal waterways to remain alert for marine mammals and sea turtles into summer through early fall.
Dolphins, manatees, sea turtles, whales, and other marine wildlife are regular seasonal visitors to the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries, the Atlantic Ocean, and coastal bays. So far in 2025, Maryland has reported a higher-than-average number of strandings.
The five-year average (2020–2024) for marine mammal strandings in Maryland from January to May was 10 cases. As of June, the stranding program has responded to 29 animals.
Anyone who sees a marine mammal or sea turtle in Maryland waters is encouraged to report it via the Maryland Natural Resources Police Hotline, 800-628-9944, or use a simple online form to report deceased marine mammals or sea turtles. Anglers, boaters, and beachgoers should especially be on the lookout for stranded, dead, sick, injured, or entangled animals.
“Citizen reports allow us to have eyes on Maryland’s 3,190 miles of tidal coastline,” said Stranding Response Program Coordinator Amanda Weschler. “The data provided about each deceased animal and the select necropsies we perform contribute valuable information to the scientific understanding of the challenges protected species face in our waters.”
Since 1990, Maryland’s Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Stranding Response Program ha s collected reports of more than 1,590 strandings.
One of the first cases the staff responded to in April was a West Indian manatee, reported by a private citizen kayaking on the Pocomoke River in Worcester County. DNR biologists determined that it likely stranded in late summer or early fall of 2024.
This was the first known stranded manatee in Maryland since November 2016. West Indian manatees (Trichechus manatus) are considered an “out-of-habitat” species in Maryland, making this sighting particularly rare.
Other animal strandings to which DNR has responded in 2025 are:
- 13 bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus)
- Two grey seals (Halichoerus grypus)
- One harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena)
- One humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae)
- Five loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta)
- One minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata)
- Five short-beaked common dolphins (Delphinus delphis)
Not all reported animals are viable for necropsy due to factors such as decomposition, resource availability, and the accessibility and safety of the stranding site. In cases where necropsy is not feasible, Stranding Program staff collect morphometric data, stranding location information, and take photographs. The deceased animal may be left at the stranding site to decompose naturally, benefiting the ecosystem. Alternate disposal methods include burial on-site or removal to designated disposal facilities, depending on the circumstances and local regulations. A list of relevant contacts for individuals seeking assistance with disposal is listed on the DNR website.
The department urges anyone who encounters a stranded animal, alive or dead, to maintain a safe and respectful distance and record details, including photos, to provide with a report.
I haven't found anything recently, but a few years ago, a dead dolphin washed up at Matoaka and a few years before that a sea turtle on Calvert Beach.
Maryland Department of Natural Resources Rolling out New Licensing System, MD Outdoors
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources will introduce its new online licensing system, MD Outdoors, on June 24. This centralized system replaces the current system, COMPASS.
MD Outdoors will continue to offer products for all outdoor activities, including all Maryland hunting and fishing licenses and associated stamps and permits, boat and off-road vehicle renewal registration, and other services that will be available in this one convenient location. The system is designed to streamline the process of renewing licenses and permits as well as make it easier and more simple for new and returning customers.
Current license-holders will retain their DNR ID number; the new website will provide clear instructions on creating a new username and password for MD Outdoors, where customers can retrieve their account information. The new system includes auto-renew options, an easier-to-navigate interface, and an app that stores your license information, and can help direct people to new hunting and fishing opportunities. Other benefits and capabilities will be added in the future.
Along with improvements in the user experience, Maryland for the first time is offering the purchase of durable license cards that demonstrate fishing and hunting license validity. These rugged, collectable cards feature various images of Maryland fish and wildlife.
That reminds me. My fishing license expires July 1. I might as well go over and check out the new site.
The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: Overall Beauty up more or less on time and under budget.
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