Protecting Marine Life. Advancing Ocean Health. Empowering Communities.
The Marine Animal Response Society (MARS) is a Nova Scotian-based charitable organization that drives real conservation change across Canada and beyond by responding to marine animals in distress and investigating animals that have died. Your support helps make it all possible.
MARS is the only organization in the Maritime Provinces solely dedicated to responding to incidents involving live or dead marine animals — from stranded whales to injured seals and beached shark carcasses. Every call we answer, every response we deploy, is rooted in conservation, recovery, and stewardship of marine animals and ocean ecosystems.
OUR IMPACT
THE MARS HOTLINE HAS HELPED DOCUMENT
INCIDENTS INVOLVING MARINE ANIMALS
THE MARS TEAM HAS RESPONDED TO OVER
INCIDENTS INVOLVING SEALS SINCE 1999
WELL OVER
INCIDENTS INVOLVING CETACEANS RESPONDED TO SINCE 1999
MORE THAN
VOLUNTEERS TRAINED
WHAT WE DO
With hundreds of incidents reported every year, our team of experts and trained volunteers work throughout Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island. We respond to live animals in distress, including live strandings, entrapments, and entanglements. We investigate and study dead marine animals, including those floating at sea or beachcast along our shores. We work together with other expert partners for large whale entanglements and sea turtle response.
“MARS has successfully pulled together various professional resources and their expertise in this region in order to increase awareness of the importance of marine mammals and of the vital role that these animals play as sentinels of the marine environment. Its positive influence has gone much beyond the Maritimes provinces, and it has undoubtedly become a very well recognized and respected organization at the national and international levels.“
Jeremy WhiteFounder & Alesmith Big Spruce Brewing
“For more than 20 years, MARS has provided a reliable source of information and action for citizens who find marine life in trouble. There is no other comparable resource to MARS’ emergency helpline; and when someone comes across a stranded whale, or injured sea turtle, they have nowhere else to call. The reality of the situation is that problems like these are not just public safety issues, but also bring to light the human impact on our marine ecosystems.“
Hope SwinimerFounder, Hope for Wildlife Society
“Over many years, MARS has successfully pulled together various professional resources and their expertise in this region in order to increase awareness of the importance of marine mammals and of the vital role that these animals play as sentinels of the marine environment. Its positive influence has gone much beyond the Maritimes provinces, and it has undoubtedly become a very well recognized and respected organization at the national and international levels.“
Pierre-Yves DaoustProfessor Emeritus of Anatomic Pathology and Wildlife Pathology / Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative