As well as the animals, the other important element of Marine Team is the people who work tirelessly to rescue, rehabilitate and release marine mammals back into the wild. The main groups involved are:
The Animal Care Team at the National Seal Sanctuary in Gweek, Cornwall
These dedicated people rescue numerous stranded seals each year, providing medical treatment and an environment for rehabilitation. In the vast majority of cases, the young seals when healthy enough, are returned back into the wild. We see the joy, despair and humour that their work brings.
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Stephen Westcott
'Cornwall's Seal Man', dedicates his life to investigating seal behaviour and the marine environment in which seals live. We see him exploring the dark and often eerie sea caves, where the cries of the seals become a haunting, sometimes hypnotic cacophony. Some of these primitive caves may be accessed on only a few days of the year. Within them, the profusion of wildlife, including the incredible array of birds, is truly remarkable. Stephen also studies the potential effects of human disturbance on these wildlife havens.
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British Divers Marine Life Rescue
Formed in response to the phocine distemper virus (PDV) epidemic that afflicted common seals in the late 1980s, BDMLR comprises thousands of volunteers around the UK. At a moment’s notice they are able to muster a team of medics to be sent to any site where a marine mammal is in distress. This might be a stranded whale or dolphin, in which case they utilise their unique inflatable pontoons for the re-floatation of these cetaceans.
Many
other organisations and individuals play a role in the welfare of marine
mammals. In Marine Team these include the RSPCA, Zoomarine in Portugal,
the Falklands Conservation Trust and members of the general public.