Data Quality Act and Disclaimer for the MMHSRP

The NOAA Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program (MMHSRP) web site aims to provide the public with information on marine mammal strandings as obtained by the program. The information provided for each stranded animal is dynamically obtained through a database of Level A records that is updated and reviewed by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) Regional Coordinators prior to being made available on-line. The information contained in the database is collected from our stranding network participants, e.g., biologists, aquariums, veterinarians, and researchers. Although every effort is made to provide accurate and timely information, the MMHSRP relies on data provided by third parties (our stranding network participants) and changes in animal status may occur prior to updating this database. Therefore, the MMHSRP cannot provide any warranty as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of information or data. To improve this web site and assist in your use of the data, we have developed four confidence levels of the data: unconfirmed - low, confirmed - minimum, confirmed - medium and confirmed - high. The MMHSRP welcomes any suggestions on how to improve this web site and correct errors.