Arranging Talks
I often give talks and illustrated presentations about my work. Venues have included the Edinburgh Book Festival, the Wrexham Science Festival (Wales), The Deep, Scottish Seabird Centre, Edinburgh Zoo, to meetings of Flora and Fauna International, Montreal Zoological Society (Canada), the European Cetacean Society, the Holarctic Marine Mammal Conference (Crimea), Trent University (Canada), Ohio State University and Evergreen College (US) and to many school, conservation and other groups mainly in the UK, US, Canada and Japan.
I usually present an illustrated talk for 20-40 minutes (up to an hour), followed by questions and book signing. General audience topics include:
Orca: The Sociable Whale
Whale Watching around the World
The Science of Nature Writing and the Nature of Science Writing
Creatures of the Deepest Seas
From Ants to Whales…
I also give more specialized lectures at international conferences and workshops on:
Marine Protected Areas for Whales and Dolphins
Best Practice Whale Watching and Marine Ecotourism
Marketing High Quality Whale Watching
and other topics.
Workshops
I sometimes collaborate with colleagues at WDCS to present hands-on workshops on whale watching, marine ecotourism and marine protected areas. For more information, please enquire.
Future Talks and Presentations
Marine Protected Areas in the Black & Mediterranean Seas, Dubrovnik, Croatia, 22-25 October 2007
Recent Talks
Marine Mammals and Marine Protected Areas. Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, Honolulu, Hawaii, 2nd July 2007
Marine Protected Areas and Cetaceans: Their potential for noise mitigation, Geographic Restrictions Workshop, Lanzarote, Canary Islands, 4-6th June 2007
Living with Orcas in the Russian Far East. A benefit presentation for the Far East Russia Orca Project. 8th May 2007 (7 pm, Tuesday). Futures Room, St George’s School for Girls, Edinburgh. To contribute funds to the project, please send an
What is needed to make sustainable whale watching and a good cetacean MPA? Keynote Lecture to the 2nd International Workshop on Management and Non-Lethal Use of Cetaceans, La Pedrera, Uruguay, 19th April 2007
Orca Acoustics Talk with Dr. Olga Filatova (FEROP). Scottish Seabird Centre, North Berwick, 13th April 2007
The Lives of Kamchatka Orcas - Wrexham Science Festival, Wrexham, Wales, UK - 29th March 2007
Keynote Talk for Marine Protected Areas symposium, GEF Marine Project - Caldera, Chile - 14th November 2006
Marine Protected Areas workshop for ACCOBAMS Scientific Committee - Monaco - 5th November 2006
Whale Video and Talk Series at the Scottish Seabird Centre, North Berwick, 14th and 21st August, and 4th September 2006
The Scottish Seabird Centre hosted a series of 3 Monday-evening talks with video dispatches from the field in 2006. The presentations featured high quality videos from the field, revealing pioneer whale and dolphin research as well as conservation work. There were Questions & Answers and books signings afterwards.
14th August 2006, 7 pm: The Secret Lives of the Russian Orcas...was a chance to see WDCS’s Far East Russia Orca Project in action, which Erich works with off Kamchatka in the Russian Far East, including rare footage of an orca capture caught on video.
21st August 2006, Monday, 7 pm: Tango Whale Watching in Patagonia, Argentina. On the National Day of the Whales in Argentina in Sept. 2005, the most famous tango band from Buenos Aires played for the whales and more than a hundred people at a unique ocean concert. Filmed by Chris Johnson, PBS Voyage of the Odyssey producer-cinematographer.
4th September 2006, Monday, 7 pm: Japanese Whale Watching, Giant Squid and Expo. In August 2005, Erich and Japanese naturalist Kotoe Sasamori gave presentations and led porpoise watches at the World Expo in Nagoya, Japan. In February 2006, he went to the Ogasawara islands where the giant squid was photographed for the first time. This is a chance to explore Japan’s complex relationship with cetaceans.
Besides the talks, WDCS Whale & Dolphin Workshops, 11th, 12th and 14th August were popular, as was the giant inflatable 100-foot blue whale on the beach on 11th August! For more information about future whale and dolphin events, contact the Scottish Seabird Centre, The Harbour, North Berwick, Scotland, www.seabird.org and the WDCS Wildlife Centre, Spey Bay, Scotland, www.wdcs.org.
Talks