*Photo: “Catalog #3546 ‘Halo’ and Calf” by Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute under NOAA permit 26919.
Julie Albert, director of the Blue World Research Institute’s Right Whale Sighting Network, will once again kick off the Discovery Lecture Series with her presentation, “Right Whale Threats: Past, Present and Future Solutions” at MDC.
Albert, along with Blue World Research Institute volunteer assistant Joel Cohen, will discuss the current status of the critically endangered North Atlantic right whales on Thursday, January 8, at 6 p.m. Registration is FREE but required – click here to register.
Sightings of these whales are already occurring around coastal Central Florida. Albert trains and leads coastal volunteers to identify and report sightings of the whales, which migrate from Canada and New England to Georgia and Florida each winter to deliver their calves. Fewer than 400 North Atlantic Right Whales currently exist.
The presentation at MDC is designed to encourage individuals to engage in a volunteer contact system that alerts officials whenever the whales are present. Officials rely on volunteer observers in a coordinated effort to help alert commercial shipping and fishing vessels when the whales are spotted.
Albert earned a marine biology degree at Texas A&M in Galveston, Texas, volunteering for the Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network and working in cephalopod aquaculture — raising king penguins — before moving to Florida in 1999 to work as the Marine Resources Council’s Right Whale Program Coordinator. That program moved to Blue World Research Institute in 2023.
Cohen assists Albert with documenting right whale sightings and conducts educational presentations and volunteer training sessions. He provides technical backup with still and video cameras, drone support in monitoring right whales and social media support for the program. A Florida Master Naturalist, Cohen also volunteers with sea turtle and bird conservation groups.
MDC’s Discovery Lecture Series occurs on the first Thursday of each month unless otherwise indicated. The lectures are open to the public at no charge, but donations to the center are always appreciated. Pre-registration is required and may be done online or by phone at 386.428.4828.
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