Dear colleagues: WhaleFest 2015 (Brighton, UK) will have a dedicated Science and Campaigns Stage with a programme packed full of fascinating talks on cetaceans and the wider marine environment. Below is a list of our speakers for both Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th March in order of appearance, in addition to short summaries about each talk. Please note that both the speakers and the running order may be subject to change. Speakers include Hal Whitehead, Martyn Stewart, Mark Simmonds, Patrick Ramage, Charles Anderson, Fabian Ritter and many more! We hope to be able to welcome you to this event. For more info go to: http://www.whale-fest.com/ *Saturday* *10.30** Alyx Elliott - World Animal Protection* *Fishing's Phantom Menace - How Ghost Fishing Gear is Haunting our Oceans * A staggering 640,000 tonnes of lost or discarded fishing gear is left in our oceans each year. Every year this 'ghost gear' traps, injures and kills hundreds of thousands of whales, seals, turtles and birds. Join Alyx Elliott as she talks about the Sea Change Campaign and how governments, industry and the public can protect sea life and move towards a future free from ghost gear, and most importantly how you can get involved. *11.00* *Guy Stevens - The Manta Trust* *A Decade Researching the Maldivian Manta Ray* Join Guy Stevens, a British marine biologist and world leading manta ray expert, as he talks about the last decade of his life researching and conserving the charismatic rays in the remote Indian Ocean archipelago of the Maldives. The Maldives is home to the world’s largest population of the reef manta ray (*Manta alfredi*), which aggregate at spectacular mass feeding sites when monsoon and lunar currents sweep the manta’s planktonic food into the shallow coral reefs, making it the perfect place to study the world’s largest rays. *11.30* *Mark Simmonds - Senior Marine Scientist, Humane Society International and Visiting Research Fellow, School of Veterinary Science at the University of Bristol * *The Whaling Dilemma* Join Mark Simmonds OBE, respected cetacean expert and a long standing member of the UK's team to the International Whaling Commission, as he looks in depth at whaling and where it stands in the 21st century with a particular focus on Japan's activities. He will explain recent developments surrounding Japan's determination to resume their whaling programme in the Southern Ocean, and also the role that the UK plays in efforts to keep the global moratorium on commercial whaling in place. *12.30* *Anna Cucknell - Marine Conservation Research* *The Thames Harbour Porpoise Project: The Life and Times of the UK's Smallest Cetacean in Our Busiest Urban Waterway* Anna Cucknell will talk about the presence and conservation of harbour porpoises, the UK's smallest cetacean, in the Thames Estuary. Once severely polluted, the Thames Tideway is now a diverse and thriving ecosystem. In 2015, MCR and partners are conducting the first scientific surveys for Thames harbour porpoises. Acoustic and visual surveys will uncover the species' seasonal distribution in addition to highlighting any threats they are facing. This talk will summarise the methods and results from the first survey which will happen the week prior to WhaleFest, whilst explaining how everyone can get involved in the conservation of the Thames harbour porpoise. *13.00 Emma Cunningham - Marine Conservation Society* *Turning the Tide on Marine Litter - Can We Really Make a Difference?* Join Emma for an introduction to the work of the Marine Conservation Society and their work to tackle the rising level of litter that finds its way into the marine environment. Emma will talk about the harmful effects that this litter can have on our marine wildlife populations. Find out how you can help make a difference and get involved! *13.30 Jennifer Jackson and Iain Staniland - British Antarctic Survey* *Baleen Whales in Space and Time* This talk will cover work by the British Antarctic Survey using emerging technology such as remote sensing and population genomics to generate novel insights into baleen whale abundance, trends and population structuring of baleen whales and recovery from 20th century whaling. Highlights include the use of satellite imagery to count southern right whales from space, the use of acoustics to survey the presence of different species, population modelling to assess abundance and recovery trends of humpbacks and blue whales in the South Pacific and the global evolutionary history of the humpback whale. *14.00 Martyn Stewart - Nature Sound BBC* *Dolphins of Taiji and the Captive Trade* Around 2000 dolphins around the coast of Taiji, Japan, are captured between September and March each year. 8% are put into the captive programme, the rest are brutally slaughtered. Join Martyn Stewart as he delves deeper into the cetacean drive fisheries that take place in Taiji and looks in detail at the methods used by those performing the captures. Please note this talk may contain some graphic images and is not suitable for young children. *15.00 Alex Mustard - Underwater Photographer, Marine Biologist and Author* *My Top 5 Shark Shots* Alex Mustard is an award winning underwater photographer who has won a number of celebrated awards, including the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year, GDT European Wildlife Photographer of the Year and a number of categories of the British Wildlife Photography Awards. During this talk Alex will share his five favourite shark photos and the stories and photographic techniques behind them. *15.30 Patrick Ramage - International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW)* *Making Whaling History: The Strife is O'er, the Battle Won?* This year, for the first time in more than a century, no whales are being killed this season for commercial purposes in the Southern hemisphere. The world’s highest court has ruled Japan’s scientific whaling in the Southern Ocean illegal. Commercial whaling by Iceland and Norway faces increasing domestic pressure and criticism. Whale watching is growing in all three countries and continues to expand worldwide. Has the battle to end commercial whaling been won? Patrick Ramage, Global Whale Programme Director for IFAW and a 20-year veteran of the battle to end commercial whaling, will explore this and other questions in what promises to be an enlightening and entertaining presentation. *16.00* *Fabian Ritter - The International Whaling Commission (IWC) and MEER* *Ship Strikes: How to Mitigate a Problem With Many Unknowns* Fabian Ritter will provide an introduction to the issue of ship strikes for cetaceans and ask 'why do whales get hit by vessels?' and 'how can we avoid collisions?'. He will provide an overview of the mitigating actions that are currently in place or are being discussed, including technical, operational, legal and educational aspects. His talk will also discuss the role of the IWC and its global ship strike database. *16.30* *Cetacean Careers Speed Dating!* *Sunday* *10.30 Dr Charles Anderson - The Whale and Dolphin Company* *Rediscovery of Beaked Whales* The family of beaked whales includes some of the least known of all cetacean species. They are all animals of the deep sea, rarely seen and therefore of great interest to scientists and dedicated whale watchers alike. This talk describes the extraordinary and exciting rediscoveries of not just one but two beaked whales in the tropical indo-pacific: Longman’s beaked whale and Deraniyagala’s beaked whale. *11.30* *James Brickell - Producer and Director, BBC Natural History Unit* *Filming Dangerous Animals* BAFTA award winning filmmaker James Brickell talks about a job that brings him close to some of the most dangerous animals on earth. His career has taken him all over the world filming series including Life in Cold Blood and Deadly 60. Along the way he has had run-ins with all manner of potentially deadly creatures - including angry hippos, sharks, enormous squid and gigantic spiders. Many of them making a concerted effort to inflict pain on him! In this talk James shares his experience on how to both film and stay out of trouble when faced with deadly animals. *12.30 Tim Ferrero - Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust* *Marine Conservation Zones: Securing a Future for our Marine Biodiversity?* It is a significant time for marine conservation around the UK. The Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 provided for the creation of Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs), a new type of protection for important and vulnerable marine habitats and species. Tim Ferrero (Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust) will discuss the work of the South East Wildlife Trusts in the development of the MCZs and campaigning for their designation. He will discuss what MCZs mean for marine conservation and how they would support cetaceans and other marine mammals, along with other types of national protection for these important mobile species. *13.00 Stephen Marsh - British Divers Marine Life Rescue* *Why do Whales Mass Strand?* Why do whales and dolphins strand en masse? Are the causes natural or man-made? Why would whole pods of whales end up on beaches, sometimes numbering hundreds of animals? Why are some species more likely to mass strand than others and where are the most likely places for these events around the UK? Using real life examples Stephen will address these questions and look at current theories. In this talk we will discover how a mass stranding event builds up and what can be done to try and avert a disaster. *13.30 Jennifer Berengueras - SOSdolphins* *SOSdolphins: The Campaign Against Spain**’s Dolphinaria* Spain is the EU country with the most dolphinaria (11) and the most captive cetaceans (100). SOSdolphins is a coalition of international NGOs who have decided to work on raising awareness in Spain. Spain is one of Europe’s main tourist destinations, therefore the work of SOSdolphins needs to be aimed not only at locals but also at tourists who visit Spain and its dolphinaria. Join Jennifer for a talk about the activities of SOSdolphins, their results so far and the work they still have ahead. *14.00 Wietse van der Werf - The Black Fish* *Protecting the Oceans Against Illegal Overfishing* Organised crime is threatening our oceans. Illegal fishing operations are estimated to be worth a staggering $23.5bn annually and it is estimated that up to 300,000 cetaceans die each year as a result of industrial fishing. The Black Fish brings together people, power and the benefits of modern technology to affect large-scale monitoring of the European seas. Using drones, citizen inspectors, boats, aircraft and social media, The Black Fish are evoking change across Europe on this pressing issue. Join Wietse van der Werf to hear from personal experience about what is involved in protecting our oceans - and cetaceans - from fishing crime. *14.30* *Hal Whitehead - Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada* *The Cultural Lives of Whales and Dolphins - with photos by Jennifer Modigliani* A humpback whale sings a long a complex communal song, a song that evolves over months, a song whose changes propagate eastward across the South Pacific over years. Blue whales have simpler songs, but songs that get a little lower in pitch with each passing year. One community of bottlenose dolphins place sponges on their noses; in another the dolphins beg for fish from boaters; while a small group can walk on their tails. Come and join world expert Hal Whitehead as he talks about the fascinating topic of culture within whale and dolphin social structures, how our knowledge of cetacean culture should be central to conserving these species, and should influence how we treat individuals. Hal’s talk will be accompanied by photos from Jennifer Modigliani. *15.30* *Russell Wynn - National Oceanography Centre* *From Hard Graft to High Tech: Using Novel Robotic Vehicles to Map and Monitor Life in the Ocean* This talk will show how marine robotic vehicles are transforming the way scientists and policy-makers map and monitor marine life in the ocean. A recent demonstration project off southwest England comprised the largest fleet of robotic vehicles yet deployed in the UK, working together to simultaneously collect data on the ocean environment and ecosystem. Dr Russell Wynn will describe how the robots successfully imaged plankton and fish in the water column, detected echo-locating cetaceans, and photographed cetaceans and seabirds at the sea surface. *16.00* *Andy Rogan - Ocean Alliance* *Threats to Cetaceans: Chemical Pollution* Ocean Alliance is a research and conservation group founded by renowned whale biologist Dr. Roger Payne. The group focuses on the greatest threats whales face: in this case chemical pollution. This talk will look at the threat of chemical pollution on cetaceans - why it constitutes one of the gravest hazards to whale and dolphin species survival, why cetaceans are the ‘canaries in the gold mine’ for humanity when it comes to chemical pollution, how Ocean Alliance has been studying it (focusing on a recently concluded 5-year study in the Gulf of Mexico) and how we can help to try and solve this problem. *16.30 Cetacean Careers Speed Dating!* For more information about WhaleFest please visit http://www.whale-fest.com/ Regards, *Dylan Walker* co-founder Planet Whale & WhaleFest dylan@planetwhale.com <ian@planetwhale.com> www.whale-fest.com Facebook <https://www.facebook.com/pages/WhaleFest/108656792611093> Twitter <https://twitter.com/WhaleFest> mob/cell: +44 (0)7900 471490 <%2B44%20%280%297775%20871953> skype: planetwhale.whale
