Nancy Black, an American whale researcher and owner/operator of a whale-watching company in Monterey, California, has been charged with two felonies and two misdemeanors for activities associated with her whale research and one commercial whale-watching trip. If convicted, she could face up to more than 25 years in prison, fines of $700,000, and forfeiture of her research vessel. She has pleaded not guilty to all the charges. This case has significant implications for many marine mammalogists in the United States and those who collaborate with U.S. scientists. As the leader scientist of the Monterey Bay Cetacean Project, Nancy is best known for her research on orcas (killer whales), having authored and co-authored over 20 scientific papers and posters on orcas, including the first photo-ID catalog of orcas along the coasts of California and Mexico, the first detailed description of the offshore ecotype of orca, descriptions of orca ecology in Monterey Bay over a 22 year period, and detailed descriptions of orca predation on grey whale calves. Earlier research papers addressed the ecology of Pacific white-sided dolphins in Monterey Bay and the impacts of gillnetting on harbor porpoise mortality. She has also collaborated on blue and humpback photo-ID projects with the Cascadia Research Collective. In addition to permitted research conducted from an inflatable research boat, much of Nancy's research has been conducted using the daily whale watching cruises of her company as a platform of opportunity, allowing her to spend many days at sea without the need for external financial support from grants or contracts. For decades, Nancy has also used her whale-watching operations to support education at local schools and fund-raising for a variety of local charities and conservation organizations. On January 4, 2012, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) indicted Nancy, charging her with two felonies carrying maximum penalties of 20 and 5 years in prison respectively and fines of up to $250,000 per felony, and two misdemeanors which each carry sentences of up to one year in prison and $100,000 fines. In addition, the DOJ is demanding forfeiture of Nancys inflatable research boat. The case is USA v. Nancy Black (case 5.12-cr-00002-EJD) in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California (San Jose court) and has been assigned to District Judge Edward J. Davila. Nancy appeared before the court for the first time on February 2 and entered a plea of "not guilty" to all the charges The case raises several issues of interest to the broader whale research community. In the two misdemeanor counts, Nancy is accused of feeding orcas in violation of the U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). It is alleged that while researching orca predation on grey whales, on one occasion in 2004 and another in 2005, a pod of mammal-eating (Transient) orcas attacked and killed a grey whale calf as the calf and its mother tried to migrate north across Monterey Bay. On both occasions, it is alleged that Nancy found pieces of blubber from the dead calf floating in the water and attached a rope to the blubber so it would not drift too far from her inflatable so she could get underwater video footage of orcas feeding on the blubber. On one of the two occasions, an orca did grab the blubber and swam off. It was the first time orca feeding, most of which happens under water, had been captured on video. Nancy showed the videotape of this feeding behavior at a marine conference in Norway. On the other occasion, it appears the orcas did not take the piece of blubber. There is no allegation that any orca was injured or harassed in either event. A major issue regarding these charges is what constitutes illegal feeding of marine mammals under the MMPA. In an interview with a reporter from the Monterey Herald on January 31, Nancy stated that she merely positioned a piece of blubber from a dead gray whale calf closer to her research boat so she could film the orcas that killed it and were feeding....I am steadfast that I wasn't feeding the whales," she said. The two felony charges are related to a six year investigation NOAA conducted regarding a single whale-watching trip on October 12, 2005, where one or more humpback whales was seen. Since 2005, Nancys whale-watching company has operated approximately 2,000+ whale-watching trips during the spring through fall seasons when the humpback whales are the main attraction in Monterey Bay. NOAA has not charged Nancy with taking or harassing any marine mammal on that trip, or any other trip. In 2005, NOAA law enforcement investigators requested a videotape of the cruise of October 12. At the time, Nancy was taking videotapes as souvenirs of the cruise for her passengers, and she provided this tape to NOAA enforcement. The four page indictment charges that (1) Nancy did knowingly alter and caused the alteration..[of the videotape] with the intent to impede, obstruct, and influence [a NOAA] investigation. and (2) lied to NOAA by stating that the videotape she provided was the original videotape. Nancy denies both allegations, stating that she did not edit the tape to deceive NOAA and was clear to NOAA investigators in explaining to them what she was providing to NOAA. As reported in the January 31 Monterey Herald interview, Black... said her separate research work has all but stopped since 2006, when 15 armed agents and police stormed into her house with a search warrant. The impact then and now has been devastating, she said. "This is my whole life. This is not just some side thing that I do," an emotional Black said late Tuesday at her attorney's office in Monterey. "The stress has been tremendous for me. I've been to the doctor several times and the money is (costly). But I just can't plead to something I didn't do." In the course of NOAAs six year investigation, NOAA investigators have allegedly obtained numerous search warrants for the records, e-mails and documents of numerous whale researchers on the west coast and seized much of this material in a manner that has disrupted whale research and intimidated the researchers. Discovery in the case has just begun, and very few additional facts or allegations have been made public by either side. No trial date has been set, and it may be some time before one is set. In the meantime, Nancy has had to incur very large legal fees to defend herself against these charges. The many friends, scientific colleagues, and supporters of Nancy have created a website: www.nancyblacklegaldefense.org that provides detailed information about the charges, and Nancys long history of whale and dolphin research. The website will also provide current information about events in the case as they occur and scheduled future events. The website also contains information about various ways that persons who choose to can support Nancy in this case. Persons who have information either: (a) relevant to the case or the events in question or (b) comments about the effect NOAAs investigation and pretrial actions are having on ongoing and future whale research, are asked to contact either of Nancys attorneys: - Mark R. Vermeulen, Law Office of Mark R. Vermeulen, 755 Florida St. #4, San Francisco, CA 94110, ph: (415) 824-7533, fax: (415) 824-4833, e-mail: vermeulen@mindspring.com - Lawrence Biegel, Biegel Law Firm, 2801 Monterey-Salinas Highway, Suite A, Monterey, CA 93940, ph: (877) 223-8982, fax: 2801, e-mail: larry@biegellaw.com Jim Scarff (jim@sfcelticmusic.com) Independent whale researcher (mainly North Pacific right whales) Berkeley, California, USA