Please consider registering for the half day, afternoon workshop Marine Tours as First Responders in MMPAs on Saturday, October 10, 2009 to be held in association with the SMM's 18th Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals in Quebec City, Canada.
Marine mammal populations throughout the world are increasingly associated with marine wildlife watching operations. With the recovery of North Pacific the humpback whale (Megaptera novengliae) stock, a corresponding increase in anthropogenic factors, which negatively impact humpback whales, can be expected. Oversight by federal and state agencies charged with enforcement cannot adequately address the needs of the resource. Marine tour operators, operating in whale dense waters are uniquely positioned to act as first responders in incidents involving whale-human interactions as they are often the first to sight incidents, have the technology to document and relay the precise location and have the capability to stay with and/or track the animal involved. The approach of utilizing marine tour operators as first responders benefits the natural resource, while also providing an immediate first line of action for management agencies that often operate from land-based stations with smaller vessels. Desired output of the workshop includes increased and formalized systems of communication between commercial marine tour operators and resource managers as there is potential to develop a spirit of cooperation towards a common goal through partnership. Speakers are currently being finalized and a detailed program will be forthcoming. To register, please visit <http://www.marinemammalscience.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=articl e&id=358&Itemid=214> Merrill Kaufman Director of Education Brooke Porter, MEd Director of Conservation Pacific Whale Foundation 300 Ma'alaea Road Suite 211 Wailuku, Hawai'i 96793 Work (808) 856-8341 Fax (808) 243-9021 www.pacificwhale.org
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