Dear MARMAM list members,
The following workshop, organized by the CIIMAR-Madeira/OOM will be held at the forthcoming ECS Conference in Funchal - Madeira, on Saturday, 12th March (half day, afternoon): "Platforms of opportunity as research
vehicles: benefits and limitations"
Nowadays, the access to platforms of
opportunity can allow researchers to collect scientific data in a regular basis
at a low cost. It can include ferries with established regular routes or whale-watching
boats, which have increased along coastlines globally. Despite its limitations,
such platforms can offer ‘free’ trips on a daily basis, constituting a highly
cost-effective tool and a valuable vehicle that can help answering to numerous
questions regarding the conservation of marine mammals. Yet, existent
information and protocols supporting the establishments of collaboration
between local researchers and stakeholders such as tourist operators (e.g.,
whale-watching companies working with biologists) are still scarce. The present
workshop aims to promote a discussion between stakeholders with access to
platforms of opportunity and researchers, either with experience or planning to
establish such type of collaborations. Researchers that have used/published
information from this kind of data, and tourist operators that have developed
such collaborations, were invited for lectures. It is expected for
participants to share experiences, as well as to highlight the limitations and
benefits of using such platforms to collect scientific data (e.g., sighting,
photographic). It is expected to discuss possible types of outcomes that can
arise from such collaboration, from both scientific/conservation and tourist
operator viewpoint.
The workshop has a maximum of 25 participants and a participation fee of €15. There are only 10 places available. Anyone interested in participating please contact:
filipe.alves@ciimarmadeira.org,Further details with a programme will be sent closer to the date of the workshop to those who have registered to attend.
Filipe Alves
Marine biologist, PhD
CIIMAR-Madeira, and
Ventura | nature emotions