Learn online about Gulf of Mexico whale
The Gulf of Mexico whale (now being called Rice’s whale) is one of the rarest whales on Earth, with multiple immediate threats that could lead to its extinction.
Yet despite living offshore of Florida and its 20 million residents, the whale’s plight remains largely unknown to Gulf coast residents, though its recent renaming has brought heightened interest.
Join Dr. Joe Roman for " Life on the edge: The Gulf of Mexico Whale," on Tuesday Feb. 16 at 7 pm EST for this special free online Zoom event.
Roman will present his findings on the whale’s status, threats to its survival and the critical habitat it needs to survive. A conservation biologist and researcher at the University of Vermont, his work has appeared in Science, Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, Trends in Ecology and Evolution, and many other journals. He is author of Listed: Dispatches from America’s Endangered Species Act, winner of the Rachel Carson Environment Book Award.
The Gulf of Mexico whale’s primary habitat is offshore of the Florida Gulf coast, where it faces many threats that include oil and gas drilling and exploration, vessel strikes, proposed aquaculture activities, entanglement in fishing gear and more.
Also joining the event is Dr. Francine Kershaw, staff scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council, who will provide information about how Gulf coast residents can take action to help to protect and recover the whales. Presenters will also discuss the recent renaming of the whale as a distinct species based on new genetic analysis.
Registration for this free online event is available at https://tinyurl.com/y4v3hxhs
and an event page with more information is available on the Healthy Gulf Facebook page.
Healthy Gulf is a nonprofit organization that works to protect and restore the Gulf of Mexico and the people and communities along its shores. For more information or questions please contact Florida – Alabama Coastal Organizer Christian Wagley: christian@healthygulf.org or (850) 687-9968.
This article originally appeared on The Star: Learn online about Gulf of Mexico whale
Meet the Editor
David Adlerstein, The Apalachicola Times’ digital editor, started with the news outlet in January 2002 as a reporter.
Prior to then, David Adlerstein began as a newspaperman with a small Boston weekly, after graduating magna cum laude from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. He later edited the weekly Bellville Times, and as business reporter for the daily Marion Star, both not far from his hometown of Columbus, Ohio.
In 1995, he moved to South Florida, and worked as a business reporter and editor of Medical Business newspaper. In Jan. 2002, he began with the Apalachicola Times, first as reporter and later as editor, and in Oct. 2020, also began editing the Port St. Joe Star.