As always, MMC offers these trainings tuition-free.  We ask for a $5.00 per person/class suggested donation to help recover costs of reproducing class materials for each student.  Please note the location of the class, because classes are held in many different locations!  For more information on a specific class, please click on the name of the class for a more detailed course description!

MMC periodically offers the following classes:

Basic Handling, Evaluation & Transport
Marine Mammal Rescue Equipment & Field Site Set-Up
Marine Mammal Law Class
First Response & Advanced Assessment
Advanced Transport Techniques & Protocols
Basic Necropsy Protocols & Sampling Procedures
Identifying Signs of Human Interaction
Marine Mammal Fish Kitchen, Food Preparation & Sanitary Procedures
Species Identification & Basic Behavior
Introduction to the Incident Command System (ICS 100/200)
Basic Rigging, Knots & Crane Signals
Stranding & Volunteer Coordinator

Locations Periodically Offered:
Class Location: Key Largo (Marine Mammal Conservancy, 102200 Overseas Hwy, Key Largo,  FL  33037- behind the AT&T Tower at MM102, Bayside)
Class Location: Coral Gables (University of Miami, Coral Gables Campus)
Class Location: Key West (Eco-Discovery Center, Truman Annex)

Course manuals will be given to each participant (where applicable); please bring a pen to take notes and a $5.00 suggested donation to help us cover the cost of printing course materials.  For more information contact Education@MarineMammalConservancy.org.  We look forward to seeing you!

Directions to Class Locations:

Marine Mammal Conservancy is located at 102200 Overseas Hwy (MM 102) in Key Largo, take the dirt driveway on the north side of the Concrete AT&T Tower.

Eco-Discovery Center is located in the Truman Annex at the end of Southard Street in Key West.

University of Miami is located in Coral Gables.  The Learning Center is on the north end of campus.  When coming from the south on US1, turn left onto Granada Blvd (if coming from the north, turn right on Granada Blvd).  Turn left onto Pisano Ave (there is a statue at the fork).  The parking lot will be on your left just across from Doctors Hospital.

Island Dolphin Care is located at 150 Lorelane Place, Key Largo, Fl 33037
When coming into Key Largo from the north you will pass the Holiday Inn on your left at MM 100.  Start slowing down and within a block you will come to an intersection with traffic lights.  At this intersection, make a left turn across the highway.  Go one short block and make your first right hand turn.  Go another block and make your first left hand turn. This puts you on Ocean Bay Drive.  Stay on this street for 7 or 8 blocks until you come to a small bridge.  GO OVER the bridge, then turn right just after the bridge and Island Dolphin Care is on the corner.
If you are arriving from Key West or south of Key Largo, drive North on US 1 to MM99. Just past MM99 you will see flashing yellow lights over the highway. At the flashing lights, turn right on East Drive.  Go to the first stop sign and turn right on Ocean Bay Drive.  Island Dolphin Care is located about 1/3 of a mile ahead – on the right – just AFTER the small bridge.

The whale appears to have found something of interest at depth off the eastern tip of Cuba.  Recently, he has begun to increase the number of dives he is making to 600m-900m.  Overall, 70% of his dives are less than 50m deep, and about 5% of dives are to 200-400m, with very occasional dives of 1,000m-1,500m.  About a third of his dives are of 5 min-15 min duration, with a few dives to >40 min.

The whale continues to move slowly toward Windward Passage, between Cuba and Haiti.

June 19th, 2011

The whale has moved north from Great Inagua and is headed toward Turks and Caicos.

June 14th, 2011

Here are the latest tracking maps.

June 10th, 2011

The whale has taken a more southerly course.

June 9th, 2011

The pilot whale continues to the ESE.

June 8th, 2011

The whale continues to the ESE, well to the east of the Bahamas.

June 3rd, 2011

The whale continues to the ESE, moving through a region where the waters exceed 5,000 m depth.  As with the previous plots, this one includes the most recent 10 days.

May 31st, 2011

The whale is headed SE over very deep waters of the Atlantic.

May 30th, 2011

The whale is moving to the SE, away from the Bahamas.

May 22nd, 2011

Y-400 and Y-404 continue to remain together, and are now somewhere off the Blake Plateau (approximately 700 miles east of Charleston South Carolina) which is reasonable habitat for pilot whales. They have been making dives that are mostly less than 50 m deep, but some are to 100-200 m. Most dives are of 5-20 min duration, but occasional dives have been recorded as lasting more than 30 min but less than 40 min.

Click on the image to enlarge

Click on the image to enlarge

Courtesy of: Randall S. Wells, Ph.D.
Senior Conservation Scientist, Sarasota Dolphin Research Program Manager Chicago Zoological Society,
c/o Mote Marine Laboratory and The National Marine Fisheries Service

• Responsibilities of preparing and storing marine mammal food and supplements
• Regulatory requirements
• Strict sanitary requirements of food preparation and cleanliness

Registration:  To register for this course, please send your name, email, address, and telephone number to: Education@MarineMammalConservancy.org or call us at (305) 451-4774.

Course Fee:  All MMC courses are free for existing and new volunteers, however a $5.00 donation is suggested to help us cover the cost of course materials.

Please click here to view our upcoming course schedule.

Course Description:

• Designed for those who already know the basic techniques
• Advanced skills for transporting cetaceans
• How to properly transport a marine mammal
• Equipment demands
• Time frames
• Other skills necessary in the transport of cetaceans

Registration:  To register for this course, please send your name, email, address, and telephone number to: Education@MarineMammalConservancy.org or call us at (305) 451-4774.

Course Fee:  All MMC courses are free for existing and new volunteers, however a $5.00 donation is suggested to help us cover the cost of course materials.

Please click here to view our upcoming course schedule.

On Saturday, October 2nd, 2010 members of the Key Largo Volunteer Ambulance Corps will be hosting a class specifically for us!  MMC Staff & Qualified Volunteers are invited to attend a CPR and First Aid Course at a very discounted price!   The class has limited spots available so please contact Alex@MarineMammalConservancy.org for more information and to secure your spot.

MMC is excited to welcome FIU’s Marine Biology Club into our volunteer family!

We need your testimony. Help tell our story. Think back to the first time you visited an aquarium or marine mammal facility, better yet, the first time you visited MMC, or helped with a rehab or release.  You fell in love with the animals.  You embraced the conservation philosophy and were inspired to share your increased knowledge about the marine environment and conservation issues with your students, family, friends, co-workers and other people.

People who oppose dolphins and other marine mammals living in human care are now attacking marine mammal facilities like Dolphins Plus/Dolphins Cove and even Marine Mammal Conservancy.  They claim that our programs have no educational value, no conservation impact and that the government needs to adopt stricter regulations and oversight. They’ve influenced the United States Congress.  Now the House Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife has scheduled an oversight hearing on April 27, 2010, to hear testimony.

Marine Mammal Conservancy, as well as numerous other marine mammal facilities, including the  Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums believe that we not only educate our visitors, volunteers and even staff , we also empower them to share and act on this knowledge for the good of all marine mammals and the environment.

We need your help.  Would you please take a few moments to write about your experience of Marine Mammal Conservancy and the work in which you have seen and/or taken part.  Share how the educational programs and information made a positive difference in your life and those around you.  We are collecting emails and letters to provide to representatives from marine mammal facilities and the AMMPA who will testify at the hearing in less than two weeks!

Due to the short time period, email is preferred.  You may email your letters to us at: sara@marinemammalconservancy.org .  You can also send it via regular mail to attention Congressional Hearing  at Marine Mammal Conservancy, PO Box 1625 Key Largo FL 33037.

OR take the extra step!  We have provided a list of subcommittee members.  Please pick up the phone, outraged telephone calls, the direct human element, can be even more effective.  If you live in the district of one of these members of the House, would you please also write to them directly?  (Many only accept letters from people who live in their district.)

Help us tell our story.

Thank you in advance.

The Marine Mammal Conservancy Board of Directors

House Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife: Committee Membership

Madeleine Bordallo (D-GU) [Chair] http://www.house.gov/bordallo/contact.shtml
Dale E. Kildee (D-MI)  http://www.house.gov/kildee/contact_form.shtml
Eni F. H. Faleomavaega (D-AS) faleomavaega@mail.house.gov
Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) http://www.house.gov/pallone/contact.shtml
Gregorio Camacho (Kilili) Sablan (I-MP) kilili@mail.house.gov
Donna M. Christensen (D-VI)  https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml
Diana DeGette (D-CO)  http://www.house.gov/formdegette/dcs_zip_auth_v2.shtml
Ron Kind (D-WI)  http://www.kind.house.gov
Lois Capps (D-CA)  http://capps.house.gov/send-an-email.shtml
Carol Shea-Porter (D-NH)  http://forms.house.gov/shea-porter/webform/issue_subscribe.htm
Frank M. Kratovil, Jr. (D-MD)  http://kratovil.house.gov
Pedro Pierluisi (D-PR) http://pierluisi.house.gov/english/contact-us.html
Henry E. Brown, Jr. (R-SC) http://brown.house.gov/Contact/writebrown.html
Don Young (R-AK) https://donyoung.house.gov/Contact/default.aspx
Jeff Flake (R-AZ)  https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml
Doug Lamborn (R-CO) http://lamborn.house.gov
Rob Wittman (R-VA) https://forms.house.gov/wittman/IMA/webforms/issue_subscribe.htm
John Fleming (R-LA)  http://fleming.house.gov
Jason Chaffetz (R-UT)  https://forms.house.gov/chaffetz/contact-form.shtml
Bill Cassidy (R-LA) http://cassidy.house.gov

Tours of the National Weather Service office will be conducted throughout the afternoon and presentations will be offered on a variety of topics such as weather, coral reefs, and seagrass. Popular booths last year included a marine touch-tank, face painting, puppet shows, and other kid-friendly activities.  Raffles to benefit Sanctuary Friends Foundation of the Florida Keys, and a special weather balloon launch will round out the day.

Please contact Sara for more information.