Abstract

Since the spring of 1996, a scientific team has focused its efforts on studying the health of marine mammals in Quebec waters. The aim of this research program is to study pathogens and diseases of marine mammals frequenting the St. Lawrence estuary and Gulf with emphasis on zoonotic diseases that may threaten human health. The team is interested in stranded animals (dead or sick) to collect biological data and to obtain samples of serum and tissues for serological, parasitological, microbiological and histopathological analyses. These data complement information obtained from hunted or bycaught marine mammals sampled systematically as part as our research program. Morphometric data and biological samples are also useful in understanding the ecology, population dynamics, genetics and toxicology of wild marine mammals. A communication network has been developed since the beginning of the program with the collaboration of riverside municipalities, several agencies of the provincial and federal governments and non-governmental organizations with an interest in the marine environment in order to document stranding events reported by the public. Close to 300 calls have been received between 1996 and 1998 involving 4 species of pinnipeds and 9 species of cetaceans. Long-term monitoring of stranding events can provide useful information on changes in animal distribution, their demography, the role of diseases in wild populations and the quality of their habitat. Information on the biology of marine mammals is also provided to the public to minimize human disturbance especially for breeding seals.