Check back soon for more information about free talks and presentations for the 2011 Maui Whale Festival.

Free Talk: Living with Whales Down Under  
Time: 6:30 p.m., February 6
Where: Wailea Beach Marriott Resort and Spa's South Pacific Ballroom 

Pacific Whale Foundation will present a free talk by noted author and whale researcher Greg Kaufman entitled “Living with Whales Down Under.” This free presentation will trace the extraordinary 2009 journey of Pacific Whale Foundation’s research team from the Great Barrier Reef in Northern Australia, to the southeasternmost point of Australia, in pursuit of new knowledge of humpback whales. It will include incredible film and video footage  of humpback whales and other wildlife in Australia, including material from the team’s unforgettable encounter with the planet’s only known all-white humpback whale.

Greg Kaufman has studied humpback whales throughout the Pacific for more than 30 years. He is the Founder and Executive Director of the non-profit Pacific Whale Foundation, Maui’s oldest and largest organization dedicated to protecting whales and their habitats, and the author of four books about whales, including the 2009 book, Humpbacks of Hawaii, the Long Journey Back.

Kaufman spent nearly four months in Australia in late summer and fall withresearcher Annie Macie. From August through October 2009, the research team covered 6,000 miles of road and 3,000 miles of open ocean along the east coast of Australia.

“This was the largest single season research effort ever undertaken on humpback whales off eastern Australia,” commented Greg Kaufman. “It was an extraordinary effort to piece together three important parts of the humpback whale’s life cycle – breeding, feeding and migrating – all in one research season.”

“The 2009 field research season was unprecedented in scope and success,” says Kaufman.

Pacific Whale Foundation has been studying humpback whales along Australia’s east coast since 1984.

Data collected by Pacific Whale Foundation’s researchers is critical in efforts to protect the South Ocean humpback whales, the population that would likely be targeted by Japanese whaling ships, if the ban on commercial whaling was to be lifted.

Research on southern hemisphere whales like that carried out by Pacific Whale Foundation is especially important at this time. Japan currently exploits a loophole in the International Whaling Commission (IWC) moratorium on commercial whaling that allows for lethal “scientific” whaling. Pacific Whale Foundation and other members of the Southern Ocean Research Partnership use modern, non-lethal, scientific research methods to provide data necessary to most effectively conserve and manage Southern Ocean whales, to contest the Japanese whaling industry’s insistence on the importance of lethal whaling, and to preserve the moratorium on commercial whaling.

Pacific Whale Foundation also contributes data to the world’s largest database of South Pacific humpback whales, and provides information to governing bodies to enable effective management of Southern Pacific Ocean humpback whale populations.

“This presentation will highlight the critical importance of our research in ongoing efforts to protect and preserve the Southern Pacific Ocean humpback whale populations,” says Kaufman. “It will also give whale enthusiasts a unique opportunity to experience the journey and adventures of an amazing field research season firsthand through video and digital images of whales and Australia’s incredible natural resources.”

“You’ll feel like you’re ‘down under’ with us,” adds Kaufman, “out on the water, braving the elements and reveling in unusual and rare encounters. You’ll even see previously un-released footage of our encounter with Migaloo, the planet’s only known all-white humpback whale.”

Details

Date: Saturday, February 6, 2010
No-host cocktail reception: 6:00 p.m.
Talk: 6:30 p.m.; book signing to follow immediately
Where: Wailea Beach Marriott Resort's South Pacific Ballroom

Sponsors for this talk include:
Wailea Beach Marriott Resort

Free Talk with Dr. Cristina Castro 
Time: 6:00 p.m., February 18
Pacific Whale Foundation's Discovery Center in Ma'alaea

Pacific Whale Foundation will present a free talk and slideshow by Dr. Cristina Castro, Pacific Whale Foundation’s Ecuador Project Director. Dr. Castro and the Ecuador Project team study humpback whales in Ecuador’s Machalilla National Park, as well as providing guidance on creating effective whalewatching regulations for researchers and government officials, classes and training workshops about the whales for area naturalist guides, and environmental education programs for children in coastal villages. Dr. Castro has also represented Ecuador at International Whaling Commission meetings. Click here for more information about Pacific Whale Foundation's Ecuador Project.

Dr. Castro is a dynamic environmentalist and researcher with a wealth of ideas and proven programs to share, from publishing free books about whales to provide free to impoverished schoolchildren in Ecuador, to convincing local fishermen to give up shark finning, to publishing research papers and presenting at international conferences about marine mammals and representing Ecuador at the International Whaling Commission meetings. She will also be serving as a presenter and panelist at the "Watching Whales, Saving Whales" Symposium on February 13.

The talk is part of Pacific Whale Foundation’s monthly Making Waves Lecture series. At Pacific Whale Foundation's Discovery Center in Ma'alaea (next to Maui Ocean Center). This even is free and open to the public. 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. Call (808) 249-8811 ext. 1 for info. No registration required.

Details

Date: Thursday, February 18, 2010
Talk: 6:00-8:30 p.m.
Where: Pacific Whale Foundation's Discovery Center in Ma'alaea (next to Maui Ocean Center)

Free Talk: Notes from the Research Field: Australia 2009
Time: 6:00 p.m., March 18
Pacific Whale Foundation's Discovery Center in Ma'alaea

Pacific Whale Foundation will present a free presentation with Annie Macie, Pacific Whale Foundation Research Associate, on the success of the research team’s 2009 Australia-based field season.

After spending three and a half months in Eastern Australia and surveying 3,000 km of beautiful Australian coastline, Annie will recap her innumerable adventures and incredible experiences down under. Brilliant imagery and video footage spanning across the season and the eastern coastline will showcase the trials and tribulations of a typical field research season. The presentation will include footage of a rare encounter with the renowned Migaloo, the world’s only all-white humpback whale.

The talk is part of Pacific Whale Foundation’s monthly Making Waves Lecture series. Admission is free and open to the public. Call 249-8811 for information. No registration required.

Details

Date: Thursday, March 18, 2010
Talk: 6:00-8:30 p.m.
Where: Pacific Whale Foundation's Discovery Center in Ma'alaea (next to Maui Ocean Center)

Free Talk: Inter-specific Interaction Between Humpback Whales and Odontocetes in Maui County Waters
Time: 6:00 p.m., April 15
Pacific Whale Foundation's Discovery Center in Ma'alaea

Pacific Whale Foundation will present a free presentation by Kristen Jule, Pacific Whale Foundation's Research Director, on interspecies interactions between humpback whales and dolphins and other odontocetes in Maui County Waters.

Pacific Whale Foundation is currently conducting research on such interactions. The presentation will cover rates, locations and types of interactions, and conclude with a forum wherein people can discuss their own observations of and experiences with inter-specific interactions.

This talk is part of Pacific Whale Foundation's monthly Making Waves lecture series. Admission is free and open to the public. Call 249-8811 for more information. No registration is required.

Details

Date: Thursday, April 15, 2010
Talk: 6:00-8:30 p.m.
Where: Pacific Whale Foundation's Discovery Center in Ma'alaea (next to Maui Ocean Center)