2006 Conference Retrospective

Hula Girls dance group

Did we turn the wrong way? Darkness had already set in, and there was a slight chill in the air. Luckily it did not rain. Then we noticed the flickering of a flashlight. A human silhouette attached to it directed us to a pathway. Before long, we found ourselves drawn to a long row of paper lanterns. Like an airport taxiway, it guided us along, through the dunes, towards an ersatz tropical beach setting where we were greeted with a Hawaiian lei. Torches lit a barbeque buffet and bar and rattan beach mats served as seating on the soft sand. Once everyone had food and drink in hand, the much anticipated Polynesian dance show commenced. Hula girls of different ages, performed wonderful dances from different island regions. Their warm infectious smiles did not reveal a hint of being cold, despite their skimpy outfits. The dancers were accompanied by their oversized artistic leader, who, in between drumming, delivered commentary and a dose of standard touristy humor. The apotheosis included, a potentially embarrassing, audience participation. But few seemed to mind, especially after a few drinks.

Scott Baker

With that, the American Cetacean Society kicked off its Tenth International Conference, "Whales Without Borders", in Ventura, California. This time however, ACS partnered up with the Channel Island National Marine Sanctuary, CINMS; a partnership, that just seemed to make sense all around. As in previous ACS conferences, the format with speakers, art show, photo contest, and poster sessions was maintained. Also, a whale watch field trip was offered on Friday. As in 2004, the Condor Express was up to the task.

Sean Todd

While the trip did not yield any large baleen whales, their toothed cousins did not disappoint. Bottlenose dolphins (both coastal and offshore forms), long and short-beaked common dolphins, as well as Risso's dolphins made an appearance. The latter showing an unusual behavior of rolling over each other that even puzzled our naturalist, Alisa Schulman-Janiger. But, she alluded to a similar event she had once witnessed that included a birthing. So, we were left wondering. What if?

All in all, it was a great day on the water. Condor Express owner Fred Benko, who received the 2006 ACS/LA Whale Hero Award, and crew is to be commended for their professionalism and commitment to ACS.

This year's banquet speaker was non-other than photographer Charles "Flip" Nicklin, of National Geographic fame, back by popular demand. Flip’s great

Hal Whitehead

Speakers like Hal Whitehead, Scott Baker, Douglas Chadwick, Donald Croll, Joseph Geraci, David Matilla, Mark Johnson, Naomi Rose, Micheal Parfit, Paul Wade, and of course our own Jon Stern and Mason Weinrich, gave the conference an air of importance and excellence. Their presentations ranged from "The rise of scientific whaling" to studies of humpback whales and North Pacific right whales, as well the tragic story of "Luna". Almost all speakers touched on the apt conference theme of cetacean borders.

Of course, I would be remiss not to mention the art show. I was pleased to see some artists of the previous conference. It was good to see sculptor James "Bud" Bottoms and painter Olie Thompson again. Their artistic talents are outstanding. We were also fortunate to have Peggy Oki grace us with her presence and her beautiful art. Yours truly, was present with his laminated field guides of marine mammals.

Mark Johnson

Sharing wall space with the artists was a veritable collection of international research posters. Some came all the way from Denmark and Japan. Topics spanned the range from "White-beaked dolphin movements around Iceland", by Tetley et al., to "A Collaborative Approach to Trans-Border Whale Watching", by Anna and Chris Hall.

I urge all of you who have not been to one of our conferences, to do so. It is not only fun to meet fellow ACS members and cetacean lovers, it is an incredible inspiring and motivating experience. Or even better yet, get actively involved with ACS and help!

Michael Parfit

By all accounts this years line up of speakers and presentations was one of the best ever. Also, more time was given to speakers and to meaningful discussions afterwards. The audience responded and became more involved, and wonderful conversations continued during coffee and lunch breaks where researchers mixed with conference attendees.