Saving Marine Mammals, Saving the Ocean, Saving Ourselves

“My goal was always to change the world. You know, nothing too dramatic,” Dr. Sam Dover, co-founder and director of veterinary medicine, research, and conservation at Channel Islands Marine & Wildlife Institute (CIMWI) is honest – if not a bit wry – about his life’s ambition. While surely ambitious, the sincerity is there, and the work speaks for itself.

Dover’s childhood was filled with a passion for the ocean and desire to help injured wildlife. He pursued a career in marine mammal veterinary medicine, which ultimately led him to Santa Barbara. Dover’s desire to contribute to marine conservation was the foundation for establishing a grassroots nonprofit with his wife, Ruth. They’ve made it their mission to rescue and rehabilitate marine mammals that are sick, injured, malnourished, orphaned, entangled, or affected by oil spills, all while promoting ocean conservation. 

While rescuing marine mammals remains at the core of CIMWI’s mission, educating youth has come to be a crucial component for the nonprofit. CIMWI teaches that changes in marine mammal health can serve as early indicators of broader ecosystem changes which can also affect people.

“That’s really important,” says Ruth, “to educate and inspire the youth, because our lifespan is limited. They are the next generation that can carry it forward.”

It’s why their flagship initiative for 2026 is the Marine & Wildlife Institute: Lessons in Conservation, a program that will provide free curriculum intended to nurture a deep understanding of humanity’s impact on the ocean’s ecosystems, mammal biology, and behavior, and how we as a community can take action to promote conservation.

But these ambitious initiatives and saving marine mammals require a significant amount of resources and money, as well as a lot of human power… they do it all with just three full-time staff members and 140 volunteers. Although CIMWI is authorized by NOAA Fisheries, the nonprofit must generate its own financial support. Local awareness and support are critical. 

As the crisis in our oceans deepens, CIMWI’s growing workload has been taxing their bandwidth. Within just three months earlier this year, CIMWI responded to 473 marine mammals. During the last three years, a myriad of factors – including climate change, pollution, and disease – has contributed to an 80% increase in reports of distressed marine mammals, a 64% rise in rescues, and a 925% surge in domoic acid-related strandings, all of which have strained the nonprofit’s already tight resources. 

Dr. Sam Dover puts it plainly: “We need more support to save more lives.” Not just animals’ lives, but the lives of people, as well. A polluted ocean causes an estimated nine million premature deaths annually, enormous economic losses, erosion of human capital, and degradation of ecosystems (NIH).

CIMWI is working to change that. And they’re not just making a splash. They’re making huge waves of impact.