Marine Mammal Experts Meet in Halifax
Abu Dhabi/Halifax, 30 October 2017 – The 22nd Biennial Conference of the Biology of Marine Mammals was held in Halifax, Canada from 22 -27 October 2017. The event, hosted by the Society for Marine Mammalogy, was followed by the Eighth International Sirenian Symposium on 28 October.
The theme for the Marine Mammal Conference was ‘2017: A Marine Mammal Odyssey, Eh!’ and featured presentations on a number of marine mammals and ecosystem. A key focus of the conference was the conservation impacts to marine mammals and the efforts to understand and ensure their continued survival.
Dr Donna Kwan, Programme Management Officer of the CMS Dugong MOU Secretariat, attended both the Conference and Symposium. Colleagues from the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi, and the Dugong Technical Group gave presentations on the recently re-launched Dugong and Seagrass Research Toolkit.
Dr Kwan also gave a presentation at the Sirenian Symposium on global dugong conservation efforts, including the GEF Dugong and Seagrass Conservation Project. The Symposium was an all-day meeting to foster communication between researchers, managers and policy makers on all aspects of Sirenian conservation.
Both events provided an important opportunity to share experiences and work together to ensure the ongoing conservation of the world’s marine mammals.
