Marine Mammal Commission

2018 Annual Meeting

A Spotlight on the Pacific Northwest and Alaska

The Commission would like to thank all who attended our 2018 Annual Meeting in Seattle, WA.

The Commission’s 2018 Annual Meeting on May 29-31, 2018 in Seattle, Washington focuses on Pacific Northwest and Alaskan marine mammal science and management issues. Some of the major topics include impacts of a changing ocean, conservation concerns related to recovering pinniped populations, southern resident killer whales, West Coast large whale entanglements, sea otters, and Alaskan species of concern. Following the meeting, this page will host the presentations and brief summaries of each session below.

Click here for a PDF copy of the agenda. Please feel free to contact us with any questions or feedback.

Day 1: Tuesday May 29

8:30-10:00 AM: Executive Session (closed to public)

Morning Break

10:30 AM: Public Meeting Begins

  • Welcome and Overview from the Chairman
    Daryl Boness, Chairman, Marine Mammal Commission (MMC)

Audio MP3 on YouTube

11:00-12:00 PM: Physical and Biological Characteristics of the North Pacific

Sue Moore, Senior Scientist, NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Office of Science and Technology

Audio MP3 on YouTube

Lunch Break 

1:30-3:00 PM: Impacts of  a Changing Ocean
Samantha Simmons, Scientific Program Director, MMC

Audio MP3 on YouTube

Afternoon Break

3:30-5:00 PM: Emerging Tools and Technologies
Randy Wells, Senior Conservation Scientist, Chicago Zoological Society

Audio MP3 on YouTube

Day 1 Session Summaries

5:00-5:30 PM: Public comments, end of day recap, action items

Steller sea lions range along the North Pacific Rim from northern Japan to California image

Steller sea lions range along the North Pacific Rim from northern Japan to California (NOAA’s National Marine Mammal Laboratory)

Daryl Boness, Chairman, MMC

 

Day 2: Wednesday May 30

8:30-9:15 AM: Salmon Runs, Southern Resdient Killer Whales (SRKW), and Pinnipeds
Dennis Heinemann, Senior Advisor for Fisheries Policy & Ecology, MMC & Michael Gosliner, General Counsel, MMC

Audio MP3 on YouTube

Session Summary

Jason Baker, Research Marine Biologist, NMFS Pacific Island Fisheries Science Center

Audio MP3 on YouTube

Morning Break

10:30 AM-12:00 PM: Conservation Concerns Related to Recovering Pinniped Populations –  Part 2
Jason Baker, Research Marine Biologist, NMFS Pacific Island Fisheries Science Center

  • Panel Discussion
    Panelists in Addition to Presenters:
  1. Nate Pamplin, Policy Director, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
  2. Sharon Young, Marine Issues Field Director, Humane Society of the United States
  3. Guy Norman, Member, Northwest Power & Conservation Council

Audio MP3 on YouTube

Session Summary

Lunch Break

Killer Whales – National Marine Mammal Laboratory

Robin Baird, Research Biologist, Cascadia Research Collective

  1. Mike Ford, Director of Conservation Biology Division, NMFS Northwest Fisheries Science Center
  2. Ken Balcomb, Founder and Senior Scientist, Center for Whale Research
  3. Gina Ylitalo, Environmental Chemistry Program Manager, NMFS Northwest Fisheries Science Center
  4. Sheila Thornton, Research Scientist, Fisheries and Oceans Canada
  5. Jason Wood, Operations Manager & Senior Research Scientist, Sea Mammal Research Unit Consulting
  6. Joe Gaydos, Science Director, SeaDoc Society

Audio MP3 on YouTube

Afternoon Break

3:30-5:00 PM: SRKW: Management- Existing and Planned Actions/Measures
Randy Wells, Senior Conservation Scientist, Chicago Zoological Society

  1. Kendra Smith, Environmental Resources Manager, San Juan County Office
  2. Deborah Giles, Scientific Advisor and Coordinator, Orca Salmon Alliance

Audio MP3 on YouTube

Session Summary

5:00-5:30 PM: Public comments, end of day recap, action items
Daryl Boness, Chairman, MMC

 

A humpback whale entangled in fishing gear image

A humpback whale entangled in fishing gear. Image taken under NOAA MMHSRP permit #932-1905 (NOAA)

Day 3: Thursday May 31

8:30 AM-11:15 AM: West Coast Large Whale Entanglements
Randall Reeves, Chair of Committee of Scientific Advisors, MMC

Audio MP3 on YouTube

Morning Break

  • Panel Discussion
    Panelists in Addition to Presenters
  1. Sheila Garber, Purchasing and Sales, Englund Marine & Industrial Supply
  2. Daniel Ayers, Coastal Shellfish Manager, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife

Session Summary

11:15-12:00 PM: Southeast Alaska Harbor Porpoises

Patty Rosel, Research Geneticist, NMFS Southeast Fisheries Science Center

Audio MP3 on YouTube

Lunch break

1:30-3:00 PM: Sea Otters – California, Washington, and Alaska
Frances Gulland, Commissioner, MMC

Sea otters on the Pacific coast, Shutterstock Photo.

  1. Lilian Carswell, Southern Sea Otter Recovery and Marine Conservation Coordinator, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
  2. Patrick Lemons, Chief of Marine Mammals Management, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Alaska
  3. Mike Miller, Chair, Sitka Marine Mammal Commission
  4. Grant Hilderbrand, Marine Ecology Office Chief, USGS Alaska Science Center
  5. Dan Ayres, Shellfish Biologist, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife

Public Comment Submitted by Michelle Bender on behalf of Friends of the Sea Otter

Audio MP3 on YouTube

Session Summary

Afternoon Break

3:30-4:45 PM: Alaska Species of Concern – Science Gaps and Management Needs

Robert Suydam, Wildlife Biologist, North Slope Borough

Audio MP3 on YouTube

4:45-5:00 PM: End of day recap, action items and thank you from the Chairman
Daryl Boness, Chairman, MMC

5:00 PM: Annual Meeting Adjourns