. Coast watch. Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology. Based at Sea World in Orlando, Fla., O'Dell jokingly calls his job a "; "The network is all-volunteer," he says. "There's virtually no money in ; Before the national and regional networks evolved in 1977, stranding volunteers often worked indepen- dently along the coast, he says. Today, they are more organized, publishing a seasonal newsletter that is funded by NMFS. But the network faces one ever- present hurdle: lack of funding. To operate efficiently, stranding n
. Coast watch. Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology. Based at Sea World in Orlando, Fla., O'Dell jokingly calls his job a "; "The network is all-volunteer," he says. "There's virtually no money in ; Before the national and regional networks evolved in 1977, stranding volunteers often worked indepen- dently along the coast, he says. Today, they are more organized, publishing a seasonal newsletter that is funded by NMFS. But the network faces one ever- present hurdle: lack of funding. To operate efficiently, stranding networks need logistical equipment such as machinery for hauling mammals, foul-weather gear and medical supplies. They also need special field equipment for collect- ing, analyzing and storing specimens and data. Finally, they need places to archive that data. "But nobody's putting up the money. That's been a real stumbling block," O'Dell says. The dearth of government funding belies the instrumental role the network plays in supplying "ultrafresh" data in times of crisis. In 1982, the network was able to provide archived tissue samples that helped identify mobilivirus, a disease linked with a mysterious dolphin die-off in Florida, O'Dell says. "One of the important aspects of the network is gathering long-term historical data," he says. "We can then identify a crisis when it happens. Samples that we've collected in the past are starting to pay ; North Carolina is in a unique position among other states in the Southeast because some volunteers are able to incorporate their MMSN work with their "real" jobs, he says. For example, part of Thayer's job description at NMFS is coordinating the state's network. Volunteers in many other states don't have that advantage. "That's very positive," O'Dell says. "As the federal government wants more and more information on strandings, the only way to do it is to have dedicat
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