HARBOR BRANCH - OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

PROTECT FLORIDA WHALES SPECIALTY LICENSE PLATE PROGRAM AWARDS $50,000 TO SUPPORT RIGHT WHALE MONITORING AND PROTECTION

FT. PIERCE, Fla., Jan. 18, 2005 -- The Protect Florida Whales specialty license plate program, administered by Harbor Branch Oceanographic, has just awarded its first competitive research grant to support the monitoring, protection, and study of the severely endangered North Atlantic right whale. A consortium led by the Marine Resources Council (MRC) in Palm Bay, Fla., that also includes Associated Scientists at Woods Hole (ASWH), in Massachusetts, and Marineland, in St. Augustine, Fla., was the recipient of the $50,000 award.

"Right whales are the most endangered of all the great whale species, so we're especially proud to make this award to an outstanding group with such demonstrated commitment to the critical mission of preserving this species," says Stephen McCulloch, executive director of Harbor Branch's Marine Mammal Research and Conservation program.

A panel of specialists from outside Harbor Branch determines recipients of whale plate grants. The new funding will support continued efforts of MRC to coordinate local volunteers who monitor right whales. It will also allow researchers to support efforts to photograph, identify, and track the whales to better understand their movements and habits in hopes of ultimately preventing their extinction.

"The Marine Resource Council is extremely pleased at this opportunity to expand our work," says Jim Egan, MRC executive director. For many years coordination of volunteers has suffered from a lack of funding, he says, but with this new award the group expects to increase not only the number of whale sightings through improved volunteer coordination and networking, but also the time whales are effectively tracked. "This will go a long way toward avoiding ship collisions and better understanding a unique species that might disappear from the earth if we do not learn to protect it in time," says Egan.

Only about 350 North Atlantic right whales remain in the world. The waters off Florida and South Georgia are their only known calving and nursery grounds. Because the whales are difficult to spot from ships, MRC has developed a network of 800 volunteers who report sightings of right whales to the group's hotline at 1-888-97-WHALE. In addition, volunteers with ASWH and Marineland keep scheduled vigils on Florida beaches to track the whales' progress as they migrate. Woods Hole researchers also follow right whale migration and conduct aerial surveys using a blimp. Once spotted, the exact location of a right whale is relayed within minutes to a network of researchers, ports, shipping lines, and navy vessels so that collisions can be averted.

Floridians from Fernandina Beach to Miami contribute information on the whales that increases understanding of their movements, habitat use, and behavior. Last January MRC volunteers reported a new mother with a calf in Indialantic, Fla. MRC photographed the whales for identification. Five days later she was spotted off Miami, and in the spring she was photographed off Panama City in the Gulf of Mexico, a movement not documented in over 20 years.

The right whale monitoring program is accomplished in conjunction with the New England Aquarium, the states of Georgia and Florida, NOAA Fisheries, the Navy, the Coast Guard, and Florida and Georgia Port Authorities. Partial funding for the work comes from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Disney, Port Canaveral, and the Brevard Zoo.

The "Protect Florida Whales" license plate was designed by world-renowned "artist of the sea" Wyland and is available at local County Tax Collector offices statewide. Whale plate proceeds are used to support various programs, including whale research and rescue efforts at Harbor Branch. The institution is also using plate proceeds to help construct a marine mammal teaching hospital at its Fort Pierce campus. Ten percent of plate proceeds go to the Wyland Foundation to support education programs that promote marine mammal and ocean conservation.

"We thank the thousands of Florida vehicle owners who have purchased Protect Florida Whale Plates," says McCulloch, " without their invaluable support, such efforts would not be possible."

Reporters are invited to attend an informal gathering of MRC leaders and volunteers on Friday, Jan. 21, at 11:00 a.m. at the Lagoon House to celebrate the award and receive a ceremonial check from Harbor Branch. The Lagoon House is located at 3275 Dixie Highway NE, Palm Bay, Fla, A high-res image of the whale plate is available at: http://www.hboi.edu/downloads/whale_plate.jpg

Mark Schrope - Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution
772-216-0390 - schrope@hboi.edu

Julie Albert or Jim Egan - Marine Resources Council of East Florida
321-725-7775

Steve Creech - Wyland World Headquarters
949-643-7070

HARBOR BRANCH Oceanographic Institution was founded in Ft. Pierce, Fla., in 1971 to support the exploration and conservation of the world's oceans. The institution has held to this mission and grown into one of the world's leading oceanographic institutions with a 500-acre campus, over 200 personnel, and a fleet of sophisticated research ships and submersibles.