Dear All I am in the progress of organising an informal meeting/working lunch on codes of conduct for cetacean watching boats, to be held at the Biennial in San Diego next month. The general idea is to facilitate a discussion between operators, researchers and people developing and monitoring codes of conduct. The aim of this is to share ideas on best practice, what works, what doesn't, how to tell if a code is appropriate-based on the responses of the animals, problems which have arisen and how they have been solved etc. This would also be a way to meet others working in similar fields and just share experiences and expertise. Several researchers have confirmed their attendance already. Therefore I would particularly like to encourage attendance by operators and individuals or organisations who are using codes, or setting up new codes. We have a provisional room booking for Monday 12th December, during the foraging break (12.30-14.00). There is also an option to stay in the room into the afternoon session for anyone wishing to continue the discussion. Space is limited, so please let me know as soon as possible if you are interested in attending. Replies should be made to deborah.benham@wdcs.org. Many thanks Deborah Benham Project Officer Dolphin Space Programme DSP PO Box 5890 Forres IV36 1WY Tel: 07921 106144 Email: deborah.benham@wdcs.org The Dolphin Space Programme is overseen by a steering group comprising VisitScotland, the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, the Wildlife Tour Boat Operators' Society, the Northern Constabulary, Grampian Constabulary, the Highland Council, Inverness Harbour Trust, the Maritime Coastguard Agency, the Tourism and Environment Forum, WildScotland and Scottish Natural Heritage. ______________________________________________________________________ This email has been scanned by the MessageLabs Email Security System. For more information please visit http://www.messagelabs.com/email ______________________________________________________________________