Pacific Mammal Research

Mission

Pacific Mammal Research (PacMam) is committed to understanding and protecting marine mammals of the Salish Sea through innovative scientific research, educational outreach, and hands-on learning opportunities for students of all ages. PacMam has pioneered the use of photo-ID on harbor porpoises, working with groups all around the world to collaborate and learn more about this small cetacean, and conducts a long-term photo-ID study on harbor seals.

Description

PacMam is a scientific research organization based in Anacortes, WA, studying harbor porpoises and harbor seals in the Salish Sea. We are one of the first organizations worldwide to undertake a long-term photographic identification study of harbor porpoises, and have successfully published several papers on our work to-date. Founded in 2014, PacMam strives to learn more about understudied species in our area and to share this information with policy makers and management teams to provide crucial information for conservation measures and planning.

We believe that an informed constituency makes the biggest difference when it comes to conservation. A large part of our mission is sharing what we learn with members of our community, locally and globally, to increase awareness and stewardship of the marine environment. We currently have 5 programs: 1) long-term photo-identification of harbor porpoises and harbor seals; 2) education and outreach; 3) citizen science; 4) passive acoustic monitoring; and 5) environmental DNA (eDNA).

As a small, female-run non-profit, your donations to PacMam go directly to facilitating each of these programs and to providing our staff with compensation for the many hours of time and energy they put into keeping our programs running and growing! With your help, we can continue to provide life-changing opportunities for young people, create vital educational resources for educators and parents, and continue to conduct cutting-edge research on important sentinel species.