Marine Mammal Institute

Oregonians may now purchase a voucher for a new license plate featuring a gray whale and her calf, with proceeds going to support the Oregon State University Marine Mammal Institute. The voucher can be purchased for $40 through the institute at whaleplate.com. Once 3,000 vouchers have been sold, the Oregon DMV will begin manufacturing the plates. The OSU Marine Mammal Institute will receive $35 for each pair of license plates sold, which will support whale research, graduate student education and public outreach.

A bacteria outbreak is making sea lions sick along the Oregon Coast, so state officials are warning people and their dogs to stay away from the animals. The outbreak began in September and likely will last into December, said Jim Rice, coordinator with the Oregon Marine Mammal Stranding Network. Anyone who comes across a sick sea lion or other ill marine mammal is asked to stay at least 50 feet away and call Oregon State Police dispatchers at 800-452-7888.

Humpback whales, it seems, are coping with dwindling marine resources by moving inland. A sharp decline in the Pacific's krill (small shrimp) have them shopping for alternatives. "They're hungry," said Bruce Mate, director of the Oregon State University Marine Mammal Institute in Newport and one of the world's leading whale scientists. "They wouldn't be there if there wasn't something to eat."

A new license plate featuring a gray whale and her calf likely will be available to Oregon drivers by summer 2017. This project is sponsored by the Oregon State University Marine Mammal Institute and enthusiasm for it is running high, said Bruce Mate, director of the institute. “Everybody I’ve shown the plate design to has loved it,” said Mate, whose institute will receive $35 from the Oregon Department of Transportation every time a vehicle owner spends $40 to buy the plate. The money will go toward whale research, graduate student education and public outreach. The institute needs to turn in an “expression of interest” from at least 3,000 vehicle owners stating they plan to buy the plate.

Leigh Torres, an assistant professor at the OSU Marine Mammal Institute, will discuss some of her recent work with gray whales along the Oregon Coast during the 10 a.m. Saturday [12/3/16] meeting of the Oregon Chapter of the American Cetacean Society in Newport, Oregon. The meeting will be at the Newport Public Library. Admission is free.

The Marine Mammal Institute at Oregon State University is currently hiring for a full-time Business Manager/Fiscal Coordinator at the Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport, Oregon. This position reports to and assists the Director, Associate Director, and Principal Investigators with the daily coordination and management of the Institute’s business and finance operations. To apply, please visit https://jobs.oregonstate.edu/ and search for position #P00896UF, or click on the link above. Closes December 14, 2016.

A lot of people think what Leigh Torres has done this summer and fall would qualify her for a spot on one of those “World’s Worst Jobs” lists. After all, the Oregon State University marine ecologist follows gray whales from a small inflatable boat in the rugged Pacific Ocean and waits for them to, well, poop. Then she and her colleagues have about 20-30 seconds to swoop in behind the animal with a fine mesh net and scoop up some of the prized material before it drifts to the ocean floor.