Rehabbed Porpoise to Be Released Saturday

After sixth months of rehabilitation at the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation, a harbor porpoise that was rescued in Maine will be released Saturday.

Robert DiGiovanni, the executive director and senior biologist, said the Riverhead Foundation has been the only marine mammal rescue organization from Virginia to Maine that has kept its dolphin tank operational in the face of severe funding shortages as grants that were once issued annually are no longer offered.

The male porpoise, named Noodle, will be transported to Coast Guard Station Shinnecock in Hampton Bays, where it will board an East End Marine Task Force 41-foot vessel, according to the foundation. The vessel will take the porpoise about 2 miles south of the Shinnecock Inlet, where it will be released.

The porpoise's dorsal will be affixed with a satellite tag at 9:30 a.m. in Riverhead. The tag will allow the foundation to track the porpoises movements every time it surfaces. Noodle will arrive at the Coast Guard station around 11 a.m. to be prepped for a voyage aboard the task force's boat. Noodle will depart the station at 11:45 a.m. with a final farewell from foundation volunteers and "adoption" sponsors. The vessel will be followed by a caravan of Southampton Town Bay Constables and East Hampton Marine Patrol, according to the foundation. Noodle gained 15 pounds under the foundation's care and was treated for lungworm.

Noodle was rescued in Brunswick, Maine, Oct. 17, 2012, by the University of New England Marine Animal Rehabilitation Center for short-term care before being transported to Riverhead Oct. 25, 2012, the foundation stated.