Town of Southampton, NY June 27, 2024 — The Town of Southampton Department of Public Safety and Emergency Management recently teamed up with theAtlantic Marine Conservation Society to provide Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle First Responder Training earlier this month.
Attending the training that was held at the Hampton Bays Ambulance Company building, were staff from Southampton Town Animal Control, Marine Patrol, Fire Marshal’s Office, Code Enforcement, and Emergency Management, along with Southampton Town Councilwoman Cyndi McNamara. Brookhaven Town Marine Patrol and Quogue Village Police Department also joined Town staff for the training. Experts from Atlantic Marine Conservation Society provided information about marine mammals commonly found in our area, ways to best assist animals in distress, best practices for responding to unfortunate situations involving deceased marine mammals and gain knowledge about the capabilities and assets that Atlantic Marine Conservation Society possesses as an emergency response partner for marine mammal incidents.
“I probably learned as much about the different types of excavators and other heavy equipment needed to handle different sized whales, as I did about actual marine mammals,” said Councilwoman McNamara. “It was very informative and great to see the cooperation and relationships that exist between our Marine Patrol, Emergency Management and the scientific experts at Atlantic Marine Conservation Society.”
Town Emergency Manager Ryan Murphy indicated that, “Atlantic Marine Conservation Society is a great emergency response partner to the Town.” Murphy went on to say, “Having an organization like Atlantic Marine Conservation Society in our jurisdiction is a tremendous asset to us. They provide expertise when dealing with marine mammals and are also responsible for conducting examinations and necropsies to try and ascertain what might have happened to deceased marine mammals that might be encountered in our waters and on our shores.”
Atlantic Marine Conservation Society Founder and Chief Scientist, Robert A. DiGiovanni, Jr. said, “We are pleased to work with the Town to provide this training and education. It is also always important to network and collaborate with our partners in non-emergency settings like this so that we can continue work together effectively and successfully during emergency response scenarios.”
For additional information about Southampton Town Emergency Preparedness please visit southamptontownny.gov/465/Emergency-Preparedness and for more information about Atlantic Marine Conservation Society, their mission and other public educational offerings, visit www.amseas.org.
