Humans and the Great Whales Workshop

During a four week summer workshop, biology professor Steve Katona led a course called Humans and the Great Whales. During the course, the Coast Guard helped bring the course to Mount Desert Rock to observe fin whales off the shore of the island. The workshop was a great success, and there was student interest in continuing the project by getting Coast guard permission to set up an observation station on the island. Though whales were the subject of much international controversy and activism, not much was known about the whales off the coast of Maine. By working with the knowledge of local fishermen and collecting observational data, students of the workshop were eventually able to create a field guide of marine mammals with funding from the National Science Foundation. The workshop left a legacy that continues to this day, with the still-active organization Allied Whale.

Want to know more? Take a look at Steve Katona's oral history, or browse the Allied Whale collection.