Understanding the historically conflicted relationship between whales and humans...

Full conference, single day, and half day registrations available.

Special conference rate of $149/night at our hosting hotel:

The Hyatt Regency, Mission Bay. Reserve your rooms now at: https://resweb.passkey.com/go/AmericanCetaceanSociety

Conference cancellation policy: $50 processing fee for cancellations by October 15. No refunds after October 15. Early bird rates apply before September 1. Online registration closes November 6. After that date, you may register at the door.

CONFERENCE SCHEDULE 

* Full conference registration tickets include Friday night reception, all plenary sessions, panels, poster sessions, book signings, art show, and lunch on both Saturday & Sunday. **Banquet is NOT included in conference ticket price. It must be purchased separately.

Friday, November 9th: Setting the Stage

9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Local whale watching trips

5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. Registration desk open for check-in and walk-in registration

Welcome Reception (Bayview Ballroom & Terrace)

6:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. - Meet and Greet Social (wine and hors d’oeuvres)

7:00 p..m. – 7:30 pm. - Lisa Ballance - (NOAA-SWFS) – NOAA Honors the 40th Anniversary of the Marine Mammal Protection Act

7:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. - Karen Risturben (artist) – Just One Word: Marine Plastic Pollution and Human Health

8:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. - Meet and Greet Social (continued)

Saturday, November 10: Evolution of the Relationship – From Whaling to Personhood

7:00 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. Registration desk open for check in walk-in registration

8:30 a.m. – 8:45 a.m. - Kathy Zagzebski, ACS President – Welcoming Remarks

Session 1: Whaling (Bayview Ballroom) – Chair, Cheryl McCormick (ACS)

8:45 a.m. – 9:05 a.m. - Bill Perrin (NOAA) – Small Cetaceans and the IWC

9:05 a.m. – 9:25 a.m.  - Cheryl McCormick (Ascend Nonprofit Consulting) - How Highly-effective NGOs Shape Outcomes at IWC

9:25 a.m. – 9:45 a.m.  - Hardy Jones (BlueVoice) – Title TBD

9:45 a.m – 10:15 a.m. Questions and Panel Discussion

10:15 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. - Morning Break and Refreshments (Regatta Pavilion)

Session 2: Whale Watching (Bayview Ballroom)

10:30 a.m. – 10:50 a.m. - Andrés Cisneros Montemayor (UBC) – The Global Potential for Whale Watching

10:50 a.m. – 11:10 a.m.  - Deborah A. Giles (UC Davis), Rose Cendak (Cal/EPA), & Kari Koski (The Whale Museum, WA) – Using Non-Invasive Remote Sensing Equipment and GIS to Assess Potential Effects of Vessels on the Activity of Southern Resident Killer Whales in the Salish Sea

11:10 a.m. – 11:30 p.m. - Cara Lachmuth (University of British Columbia) – Vessel Exhaust Could Cause Health Risks for Killer Whales

11:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Questions and Panel Discussion

12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.  - Lunch (Regatta Pavilion)

Session 3: Scientific Inquiry (Bayview Ballroom)

1:00 p.m. – 1:20 p.m.  - Stephanie Norman (Marine-Med) – The Application of GIS and Patiotemporal Analyses to Investigations of Unusual Marine Mammal Strandings and Mortality Events.

1:20 p.m. – 1:40 p.m. - Brandon Southall (SOCAL-BRS) – New Paradigms for Measuring and Assessing the Responses of Natural and Anthropogenic Sound on Cetaceans

1:40 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. - Denise Herzing (Wild Dolphin Project) – Spotted Dolphin Behavior

2:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. Questions and Panel Discussion

2:30 p.m – 2:45 p.m. - Afternoon Break and Refreshments (Regatta Pavilion)

Session 4: “The Question of Personhood” (Bayview Ballroom)

2:45 p.m. – 3:05 p.m. - Lori Marino (Emory University) – Cetaceans in Captivity: A Moral and Scientific Dead End

3:05 p.m. – 3:25 p.m. - Diana Reiss (Hunter College) – Interface Between Research and Activism: the Emotional Lives of Dolphins and Their Plight in Taiji

3:25 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. - Tom White (Mount Loyola University) – Dolphins: The Argument for Personhood and Rights

3:45 p.m. – 4:15 p.m. Questions and Panel Discussion

4:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. Poster Session; Art Show; Book Signing; Silent Auction (Regatta Pavillion)

Banquet:

6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. - Pre-Banquet Social Hour (Regatta Pavillion) - Aperitifs

7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. - Banquet (Bayview Ballroom): Awards Ceremony, John Heyning Award Presentation, Photo Contest and Poster Contest Awards Announced.

Charles “Flip” Nicklin - (Whale Trust), Special Guest Speaker – Among Giants: A History with Whales

Sunday, November 11th: Relationship Challenges and Opportunities

8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. Registration desk open for walk-in registration

9:00 a.m. – 9:10 a.m. Opening Remarks

Keynote Speaker (Bayview Ballroom) - 9:10 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. - Frans de Waal (Emory University) – The Prosocial SIde of Animal Behavior and the Role of Empathy

10:00 a.m. – 10:15 a.m. Questions and Discussion

10:15 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. - Morning Break and Refreshments (Regatta Pavilion)

Session 1: Emerging Challenges (Bayview Ballroom)

10:30 a.m. – 10:50 a.m.  - Taryn Kiekow (NRDC) – Whales and Navy Sonar

10:50 a.m. – 11:10 a.m.  - Marla M. Holt (NOAA) – Assessing the Energetic Impact of Vocal Responses to Noise in Bottlenose Dolphins

11:10 a.m.– 11:30 a.m. - Peter Ross (Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Canada) – Toxins and Killer Whales

11:30 a.m. – 12:00 Questions and Panel Discussion

12:00 – 1:00 p.m. - Lunch (Regatta Pavilion)

Session 2: Emerging Research (Bayview Ballroom)

1:00 p.m. – 1:20 p.m. - Susan Chivers (NOAA-SWFSC) – Aerial Photographs Reveal Unique Breeding Characteristics for Delphinus capensis and D. delphis off Southern California, USA and Baja California, Mexico

1:20 p.m – 1:50 p.m. - Ari Freidlander (Duke) – Using D-Tags to Study Whale Underwater Behavior and Spatial Ecology

1:50 p.m. – 2:10 p.m. Bob Pitman and John Durban (NOAA-SWFSC) – Increasing Diversity of Killer Whale Species

2:10 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. - Michael Weise (Office of Naval Research) – Cetaceans & Navy Research

2:30 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. Questions and Panel Discussion

2:45 – 3:00 p.m. - Afternoon Break and Refreshments (Regatta Pavillion)

Session 3: New Hope (Bayview Ballroom)

3:00 p.m. – 3:20 p.m. - Bruce Mate (Oregon State U) – Western Gray Whales

3:20 p.m. – 3:50 p.m. - Cynde McInnis (Ocean Alliance) – Teaching Teachers

3:50 p.m. – 4:10 p.m. - Tony Knight (Oak Park Unified School District) – Education and Peer Learning: A Case Study of Blue Whales in the Channel Islands.

4:10 p.m. – 4:40 p.m. Questions and Panel Discussion

4:40 p.m. – 4:45 p.m. Closing Remarks