Members of the Whalefish Team attended and exhibited for the MMOA in August 2014 at the 3rd International Marine Conservation Congress, Making Marine Science Matter, Scottish Exhibition & Conference Centre, Glasgow, Scotland, UK.
The overall theme of the congress was Making Marine Science Matter. For marine conservation to be effective, marine conservation science must matter to stakeholders, policy makers, and practitioners. To accomplish this, the congress was organised around specific topics of interest for marine conservation in general, as well as the local area.
• Food security and the oceans (sustainable fisheries and aquaculture)
• Marine renewable and non-renewable energy
• Climate, ocean acidification, and the changing oceans
• Advancing marine conservation through international treaties
• Effective conservation planning (including Eco-system Based Management and Marine Protected Areas, cumulative impacts)
• Communicating marine conservation (marine conservation awareness and outreach, social media)
• Participation in marine conservation science (e.g. citizen and indigenous science)
• Marine tourism
• Estuary restoration
• UK marine conservation initiatives
• Marine renewable energy
• Impacts of marine oil spills on marine and coastal ecosystems & fisheries
• Marine conservation and the media
• GMOs and aquaculture
• Future risks posed by marine diseases
• Threats to deep sea ecosystems
• Marine conservation on the high seas
• Educational strategies for marine conservation
These topics attracted many biologists and conservation scientists from all over the world and there was a large percentage of the attendees working in the marine mammal field, some of which worked also from time to time as PSOs and MMOs.
It would be great to see more participation from members of the Marine Mammal Association at future events, which not only shows a strong commitment to our field but also improves the awareness of the association and the great work we can accomplish together in improving the quality and credibility of our industry.
