ACS 2004 Conference : Learning from Whales

A Message From The President

The 2004 Conference theme is a focus on one component of our mission statement - education. We believe the first step toward conservation is having the necessary knowledge to make informed and thoughtful decisions. We have many exciting speakers lined up to discuss new and interesting facts about whales; their evolution, their anatomy and the thought provoking question "do whales really think?"

Knowledge is necessary, but it is like a tool in your tool box. If you never open it to use what's inside, then the repairs never happen. ACS believes that an informed public will also be a motivated one and use what it knows to take action to save whales, clean up the oceans and protect the environment. Our chapters are the best representation of that "action" step, and in March 2003 the Channel Islands chapter began its journey to inspire the citizens in its area to help protect marine life.

When the American Cetacean Society was formed back in 1967, it was easy to identify that commercial whaling was the most dangerous threat to whales. It was easy to see, easy to explain and easy to become motivated. In 2004 there are many threats to cetaceans, and they certainly are more complicated to understand and even harder to present to the public in a manner that inspires them to act. We believe this conference represents one way to change that - engaging the public through education and an understanding of how threatened whales, can in the long run, affect each of us.

The conference is the centerpiece of this weekend, but we hope you will enjoy the many sights and sounds of the Queen Mary and the wonderful city of Long Beach. We are proud to be near National headquarters in San Pedro and in our hometown where it all began for us 37 years ago.

Speaking of our humble beginning, it is with great sadness that I share the passing of one of our founders, Bemi Debus. A woman who when informed that whales were in danger took the first steps in founding the American Cetacean Society with Education, Inspiration & Action. We mourn her loss and wish her family comfort in this time of grief. We honor her memory by carrying on the great traditions of ACS. This conference is part of that commitment and is dedicated to Bemi.

Thank you for taking part in our conference and for donating your very valuable time to learning and taking action to protect cetaceans. The successes we have celebrated and will continue to create are due to the efforts of people like you who care enough to make a difference.

Patty Geary ACS National President

Conference Retrospective

It's a shame she isn't going anywhere, we kept thinking to ourselves as we boarded the H.M.S. Queen Mary. We would have loved to take a cruise on this beautiful Art Deco ship. With music from the 40s piping through the speakers, the smell of salt air, it is easy to transport one's self to that era, where traveling was done in style and slow paced.

Almost sixty years after she was launched, the Queen Mary has found her final resting home in Long Beach harbor. With her engines taken out, she now serves as a hotel, conference center, and as one of the most important tourist attraction in the LA area. It was an obvious choice for ACS national board to go ahead and book its 9th international conference on this wonderful ship.

The conference committee decided to dedicate this 9th conference to Bemi DeBus, who co-founded ACS in 1967. She passed away on November 4, of this year. Surely a fitting tribute for a remarkable person.

New this year was the pre-conference Educators Workshop on Thursday, by Cynde McInnis, our new ACS education chair. While I could not attend, from all accounts it seemed to have been a huge success.

While the Queen Mary is stuck in place, the Condor Express was available for a whale watch cruise, as part of the pre-conference field trips that were offered.

The Condor Express made the trip down from her port in Santa Barbara, for this exclusive pelagic whale watch trip. The destination to Tanner and Cortez banks could not be reached as the sea swell caused half the passengers to hug a plastic bag. It was decided to circumnavigate San Clemente Island instead. Non the less, this trip yielded lots of cetacean sightings for those who were left standing. Excellent views of fin whales, Risso's dolphins, breaching pacific white-sided dolphins, and a few glimpses of common dolphins, of undetermined beak length.

The line up of well-known researchers and scientists like Berndt Würsig, John Heyning, Jorge Urban, Stormy Mayo, Ann Pabst and Frances Gulland, already assured us first rate presentations. Indeed, their highly interesting talks did not disappoint. With the elections fresh in mind, it was also interesting to note the many subtle political references throughout their presentations. John Heyning's talk about about harmful algal blooms showed a slide of a map depicting red algal blooms, only to be followed with a U.S. map showing the red and blue states.

On the promenade deck were research posters on display. Topics ranged from "Feeding Calls and Social Foraging of Humpback Whales In Chatam Strait and Frederick Sound, South East Alaska" to "Whale Watching in Taiwan". The latter presented by the Taiwan Cetacean Society, members of which were present at this truly international conference.

Authors like Toni Frohoff (Between Species), and Dick Russell (Eye of the Whale), were on hand to sign their books.

The Art Show in the Royal Salon had 12 very different artists and vendors exhibit their work and sell their crafts. The gorgeous dolphin sculptures of "Bud" Bottoms and the large dramatic paintings of Ollie Thomson greeted the attendees as they entered the room. Photographers like Bob Talbot, Eric Zimmerman and Peter Fromm showed their own unique way of looking through the lens. Pat Weyer's glass vessels were stunning as ever, despite the lack of light in the dark salon. Pieter Folken's accurate illustrations of all marine mammals are known throughout the world. His posters and guide books are always a great hit.

Saturday evening's scrumptious banquet was peppered with award ceremonies and musical interlude. Although I would like to know who was responsible for booking the Beach City Cloggers. The dedication ceremony for John and Muriel Olquin was entertaining in itself. We'll never tire of John's affable nature and colorful story telling. A wonderful tribute was given for the late Bemi DeBus by both her daughter Maya and John Olguin. The LA chapter handed out its 2004 Whale Hero awards to Penni Jo Laking and Bob Talbot, for their support of ACS and other like minded organizations. An award was also given to Ken Balcomb, for speaking out against Navy sonar and its profound affects on cetaceans, while risking being criticized by the scientific community.