CETACEAN EDUCATION THROUGH AWARENESS (CETA) PROGRAM

Everyone leaves the boat with a renewed respect for the natural world!

In 1993 the Ocean Alliance affiliated itself with Cape Ann Whale Watch of Gloucester (www.caww.com) Massachusetts whereby Ocean Alliance provides Cape Ann Whale Watch with naturalist training and educational programs. Since that time, Ocean Alliance staff and volunteers have developed a program called CETA (for "Cetacean Education Through Awareness"). Run by CETA Program Coordinator and whale watch naturalist Cynde Bierman, CETA trains interns to serve as naturalists on Cape Ann whale watch trips and to do basic whale research including photo-identification of whales and collecting data on whale behavior.

CETA naturalists and interns are present on every whale watch trip, and through a series of hands-on learning tools, educate passengers aboard the boat about the whales they will be seeing, the whales' environment, and some of the problems they face. They are also available to answer questions and engage in discussions with the passengers. The goal of this program is to educate people of all ages and walks of life about whales, and hopefully encourage them to work to protect whales and their environment.

Since 1993 the program's naturalists have educated more than 150,000 passengers.

Cape Ann Whale watch passengers, including students from 100 to 150 school classes each year, about whales, the ocean environment, and conservation issues, and has trained over sixty college interns in basic marine biology and standard research methods. CETA contributes scientific findings to other local researchers, and sends our humpback whale identification photographs to the master humpback catalog at the College of the Atlantic.