Whale Researcher Paul Spong Reflects on Six Decades of Protecting Cetaceans After Final IWC Meeting
Renowned whale researcher Paul Spong reflects on nearly six decades of studying and advocating for cetaceans in an interview following his attendance at the 70th meeting of the International Whaling Commission in Hobart, Tasmania. Spong, who founded the OrcaLab research facility on Hanson Island in British Columbia, Canada, discusses his nonintrusive research methods, his early activism with Greenpeace, and his outlook on climate change and ocean protection.
Key points
- Paul Spong has studied whales for nearly six decades, beginning with physiological psychology and behavioral research on a captive orca named Skana in 1967.
- Spong and his wife, Helena Symonds, co-direct OrcaLab on Hanson Island, utilizing nonintrusive land-based hydrophones and remote cameras to study orcas.
- Spong attended the 70th meeting of the International Whaling Commission in Hobart, Tasmania, from September 28 to October 2, which he and Symonds designated as their final IWC meeting.
- Spong identifies climate change and underwater noise as the most significant current threats to cetaceans, while expressing confidence that the IWC will never overturn its 1982 commercial whaling moratorium.
What Happened
Whale researcher Paul Spong recently attended the 70th meeting of the International Whaling Commission in Hobart, Tasmania, which ran from September 28 to October 2. Spong and his co-director and wife, Helena Symonds, decided that this would be their final IWC meeting, concluding decades of participation to pass the baton to younger colleagues.
Context
Spong's career with cetaceans began in 1967 when the Vancouver Aquarium hired him to study Skana, a captive orca. Observing Skana's high intelligence led Spong to advocate for her release and pivot toward studying orcas in their natural habitat. In the late 1970s, he established OrcaLab on Hanson Island off the northeastern coast of Vancouver Island.
Over the years, OrcaLab adopted a strict hands-off approach, avoiding boat tracking and tagging in favor of land-based hydrophones and remote cameras to minimize disruption to the local northern resident orca community. Spong also engaged in early environmental activism with Greenpeace, helping confront whalers and raise public awareness. He first attended an IWC meeting in London in 1975, witnessing the commission's evolution prior to its landmark 1982 global moratorium on commercial whaling.
What's Next
Although stepping back from attending IWC meetings, Spong remains active in ocean advocacy and monitoring. He highlights climate change, ocean warming, and heavy underwater shipping traffic as major ongoing concerns for whale populations. He continues to advocate for radical action to reduce fossil fuel use and protect critical marine habitats so that cetaceans can thrive in the future.
Why it matters
Paul Spong's career marks a foundational chapter in modern cetacean research, shifting the scientific community from captive study and invasive tracking toward nonintrusive observation. His transition away from the International Whaling Commission highlights an era of passing leadership to a new generation of conservationists tackling modern threats like climate change and ocean noise.
