CCRC Conservation Issues

CCRC raises public awareness of marine conservation issues, especially those concerning cetaceans, through the following four activities:

I. For the past thirteen years, CCRC educators have informed, involved, and inspired people about whales and dolphins and the marine ecosystems they inhabit. Interactive educational presentations are tailored to groups of various ages and experience. Outreach Programs reach a wide range of community groups. Curriculum Enrichment Programs educate and involve students ranging from kindergarten to graduate school. Programs combine slides, acoustics, video, and hands-on experience. Outreach Programs are offered throughout New England, New Zealand, Australia, across Oceania and elsewhere as schedules allow. See Cook Islands Humpback Survey for an example.

II. CCRC offers first hand experience in cetacean research and conservation through internships and volunteer opportunities. CCRC's researchers have engaged numerous volunteers and interns over the past twelve years in the day-to-day operation of Dolphin Outreach, a reciprocally beneficial arrangement that is integral to CCRC's operation.

III. CCRC publishes its findings in both professional and popular formats through various media. Contributions vary from scientific to anecdotal and appear in publications ranging from peer-reviewed journals to mainstream magazines. CCRC also generates news stories for Internet, television, print and radio broadcast. CCRC contributes cetacean content and imagery to several prominent websites, including the Gulf of Maine Research Institute's award-winning Octopus.gma.org (be sure to see GoMA's new Marine Mammals site). CCRC co-produced "Ali's Adventure" with the Gulf of Maine Aquarium and Whalenet.

IV. CCRC produces educational documentary films for television, conveying marine conservation issues and information to broader audiences with documentary films. Over the past 10 years, CCRC has contributed to numerous natural history documentaries which have been broadcast on major networks. CCRC is currently the focus of a television documentary on beaked whales.

See also:
Research - CCRC conducts and facilitates benign research on whales and dolphins.
Cook Islands - A chain of 15 islands in the central tropical South Pacific.
Research Photos - Raw research materials