$10,000 For Whale Research & Public Education
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
WHALE WATCH OPERATORS ASSOCIATION DONATES $10,000 USD FOR KILLER WHALE RESEARCH AND PUBLIC EDUCATION
November 2, 2005
The Annual General Meeting of the Whale Watch Operators Association Northwest (WWOANW) was held on October 25, 2005 in Friday Harbor, Washington. Association members voted unanimously to support local killer whale research and public education programs. Three organizations are receiving US funds to achieve these goals: $3,000 to the Canadian Marine Mammal Monitoring Program (known as M3), $3,000 to the Friday Harbor based Soundwatch Boater Education Program and $4,000 San Juan Island based Center for Whale Research, run by the respected whale scientist Ken Balcomb.
The Whale Watch Operators Association Northwest is an international organization of 31 member companies that operate from Victoria, Sidney, Vancouver, Duncan, Richmond, North Vancouver, Friday Harbor, Deer Harbor, Anacortes, Bellingham, Seattle, La Conner, Everett and Orcas Island. Founded in 1994, the Association provides a cohesive structure to the whale watching industry that operates in the trans-boundary waters of Washington and British Columbia.
Supporting local scientists and educators that significantly contribute to the conservation of the Southern Resident Killer Whale population is a primary objective of the Whale Watch Operators Association Northwest.
The membership agreed that the on-the-water education programs of M3 and Soundwatch are fundamental to the conservation of resident killer whales through their public outreach programs. These organizations are in direct contact with the public who are engaged in whale watching and provide them with appropriate viewing guidelines. Soundwatch and M3 thereby promote responsible whale watching.
Ken Balcomb, of the Center for Whale Research, began a killer whale census in 1976 using individual whale identifications. Without such long-term data sets, tracking the population dynamics would be impossible. Commercial whale watchers educate passengers from around the world, based on research findings of such long-term studies.
The three grants totaling $10,000 USD will contribute to both public education and scientific research of the killer whales that live in British Columbia and Washington.
Contact: Anna Hall, Executive Director, Whale Watch Operators Association Northwest, 250-727-5709
Email: ExecutiveDirector@nwwhalewatchers.org
Second Contact: Shane Aggergaard, President, Whale Watch Operators Association Northwest, 1-800-465-4605
Email: President@nwwhalewatchers.org
