Dear MARMAM
Subscribers,
At the 2003 Biennial
Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals in Greensboro, NC the Scientific
Advisory Committee took up the issue of aerial survey safety, and formed a
working group to develop guidelines for improving aerial survey
safety.
We have enlisted the
assistance of a low-altitude flight safety expert to develop a set of
recommendations for the working group, but we are also interested in hearing
directly from scientists and technicians in the field. The committee is
interested in hearing your experiences, questions, concerns, etc. relative to
planning and executing marine mammal aerial surveys. We're particularly
interested in hearing about concerns related to the
following:
- aircraft
- pilotage
- training
- equipment
- funding (related
specifically to survey safety)
- risk assessment
- mishap response
- issues in
developing countries
Once fully
developed, these guidelines will be posted on the Society's website
to be freely available to the worldwide aerial survey
community.
Please help us to
develop a set of guidelines that will meet your safety
needs!
**************************************************************
Leslie A. Cornick, Ph.D.
Chair,
Aerial Survey Safety Working Group
Assistant Professor, Marine Biology
& Statistics
Department of Environmental
Science
Alaska Pacific University
4101 University Drive
Anchorage, AK 99508
907-564-8885