“In the past seven years, this protocol has greatly facilitated and enhanced killer whale examinations in the Northeast Pacific region, and we hope that this revised version will reflect scientific advancements in disease screening, heighten awareness of health concerns, and increase the number of complete postmortem standardized necropsies performed on killer whales.

The project was sponsored by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA Fisheries) in response to the limited information known about diseases of free-ranging killer whales.”

The Killer Whale Necropsy and Disease Testing Protocol can be found in both the Publications and Tools and Resources sections of this website.