The Right Whale Documentary: Follow Up
Thanks to everyone at HTMC for inviting us to share our new documentary, The Right Whale: Tales of Resilience & Hope, with you last month. Not only we were happy to have the chance tell people about right whales and what they’re facing in the ocean (similar to most marine species), but we were humbled by your warm hospitality, the gorgeous leis, and enjoyed all of the thoughtful questions that you raised after our screening.
Right whales are not unique in being killed by vessel strikes and entanglement in fishing gear, as that happens even to the majestic humpbacks which migrate to and from Hawaii every year. The unfortunate difference is that Northern right whales have not had the successful comeback that their Southern cousins and other whales have had after centuries of targeted whaling. To realize that there are fewer than 400 North Atlantic right whales left, and the fact that they spend most of their lives in American waters made us feel like we had a responsibility to protect them. We are not alone; there are many organizations doing what they can to help.
We were asked to provide a few ideas as to how people living in Hawaii can help. In our opinion, the most important thing you can do is vote for people who will support bedrock conservation regulations including the Marine Mammal Protection and Endangered Species Acts. Another immediate action is to make sure you purchase sustainably-caught seafood https://www.seafoodwatch.org/recommendations/join-the-movement
While many conservation nonprofits have programs addressing right whales, the smaller more hands-on organizations resonate more with us than some of the larger national groups, although all are doing good work. Here are a few whom we’ve met:
Center for Biological Diversity
https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/species/mammals/North_Atlantic_right_whale/index.html
Center for Coastal Studies
Marine Animal Response Society (Tonya Wimmer is the Co-Executive Director)
Finally, we would welcome any support that you’re willing to provide to us as we work to get the messages of our film seen and heard as widely as possible! We have multiple screenings scheduled for April in both areas in and around San Francisco and Cape Cod. Please see our website for schedules, as this is being updated frequently. In addition to in-person screenings, we are seeking funds to help develop educational materials at different grade levels. We’ve seen how people are moved after watching our film, but we want to inspire action so that positive changes can come about in the ocean for right whales and for all of us.
Cheryl & Nick Dean
Spindrift Images Foundation
https://www.spindriftimages.com
Photo: Nick Dean & Cheryl Dean
Photo from left to right: Nick Dean, Andrea Fleig, Cheryl Dean & Reinhold Penner
