From responding to entangled whales to collecting vital research data in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, our team works to protect marine mammals and inspire the next generation of ocean stewards.
About Peggy Stap
Peggy Stap
Founder and executive director
Peggy Stap is the Executive Director and Founder of Marine Life Studies. Peggy has been conducting research on whales and dolphins since 1998 in both the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS) and in the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary off of Maui. Peggy founded Marine Life Studies in 2006.
She is Principal Investigator on a NOAA NMFS permit in the MBNMS since 2006, Co-Investigator on NOAA NMFS Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program since 2016, and Co- Investigator on permit held by Dr. Dan Salden from 2000 to 2011. She has been conducting scientific research since 1998, assisting in disentangling whales since 2006, and has had a 100-ton captain’s license since 2003. Peggy is the project lead of Marine Life Studies’ Detection and Removal of Derelict Fishing Gear from the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Project.
As a child, growing up in Michigan, Peggy dreamed of swimming with dolphins. Years later, while on a family vacation in Hawaii, she saw a humpback whale for the first time at age 41 and it sparked that dream and changed her life forever. Peggy sold her business in Michigan and became a researcher for the Hawaii Whale Research Foundation. From there, she found her way to Monterey, California and began working with local research organizations.
Her experience and passion for marine life led Peggy to start her own research organization, Marine Life Studies, in 2006. With the help of enthusiastic volunteers like herself, the organization has grown into a network of programs and initiatives all aimed at the conservation of marine life, from the land to the sea.
Peggy founded Marine Life Studies, an organization specializing in research, education and conservation, and dedicated to teaching and inspiring children to protect marine wildlife through education and real-life experiences on the water.
Peggy is also co-founder of the Whale Entanglement Team (WET)® along with Mary Whitney of Fluke Foundation.
Research Background:
Peggy Stap has been volunteering, researching and teaching the public about marine wildlife from since 1998.
- Co-Investigator for the Hawaii Whale Research Foundation (HWRF) under a NOAA Fisheries Endangered Species Research Permit
- Coordinated data reporting for HWRF’s role in the SPLASH program, the most comprehensive study ever attempted of the endangered North Pacific humpback whale population
- Research Assistant for Oceanic Society Whale & Dolphin Research Projects in Monterey and Bahamas
- Worked with the Cascadia Research Collective (Olympia, WA)
- Studied marine mammal identification at the National Marine Mammal Laboratory (Seattle, WA)
DONATE TODAY
To donate over the phone, contact us. If you would rather make a
donation by check or money order, please send to:
Marine Life Studies, PO Box 163, Moss Landing, CA 95039
