[Here is the text of the speech that I gave yesterday in the closing session of the 2023 European Cetacean Society Conference.]
It is again my privilege and my honour to present the winner of the ECS conservation award – the McMath – to you.
Achieving
effective conservation is a major challenge. It is not achieved by excellent
science alone, although that – of course - provides the fundamental
underpinning. It requires political skills, tenacity, wisdom and collaboration
– put simply ‘it takes a family’ or to quote the wonderful Natasha Aguilar de
Soto from yesterday ‘science and people can change the world’.
And what I personally
take from this extraordinary and wonderful conference is not just that we have
all missed each other but inspiring reports of innovative science and signs of
tremendous collaborations – well illustrated by all those multiple sets of logos
that you see on people’s presentations . Our remarkable fission-fusion society
is inspiring – and this should give us all hope in these tough times.
The McMath
is the ECS’s premier award, today it will recognize a life time of
contributions and as such when it is awarded it should be met with loud
applause and dare I say whooping…. We will practice this in a moment.
Mainly
thanks to the pandemic it has been some time since we awarded it and I will
just remind you of a few things….
The award
is named after the late great Dr Amanda Jane McMath – Mandy - a friend and
mentor to many of us – a great champion for marine mammal conservation and also
a champion for women in science. Mandy was also great fun and so have traditionally presented these awards in
what I like to think is a humorous manner.
What I have
tried to do is present a few reflections on the intervening period and try to make
you laugh. Now…. regrettably our latest intervening period includes a pandemic,
the outbreak of a new and terrible war in the middle of Europe, other conflicts
and a serious of climate calamities all across the world.
So let’s
see if I can get a laugh out of that!
[Shows
picture of |Wally the Walrus on Tenby lifeboat slipway – used earlier in the
week when I was talking about 'Out of Habitat' marine mammals, including him.]
I am so sorry – I have confused my presentations ...... and those darned things are just turning up everywhere!
The winners
of the McMath were originally agreed by a small committee and latterly they are
agreed by the previous award winners themselves based on nominations submitted
and helped by a small group of advisors.
I would
like to remind you of the previous winners of the award.
2011 Krzysztof Skóra – the very first recipient of the award – brilliantly innovative conservation scientist – sadly lost before his time – among his innovations was the fact that he blessed the ECS with the award pictures which passes from award winner to award winner through the years.
2012 Peter
Evans – the brilliant and beloved uncle of the ECS and the ECS founder
2013 Erich
Hoyt – the sublime philosopher author who has touched so many hearts with his
work
2014 Nick
Tregenza – the ‘Pod Father’ whose work has changed cetacean research forever
2015 Giuseppe
Notarbartolo-di-Sciara – an acclaimed leader in cetacean and elazmobranch conservation
2016 – Hal Whitehead the great sailor scientist who has
brought such important understanding to the world of deep sea whales –
including their cultures
2017 Heidi Frisch- Nwakanma – her award recognising the role
of the policy makers and celebrating in particular the leadership that she brought
to ASCOBANS for many years
In 2018 – two younger men – Dan in recognition of his
brilliant innovative welfare contribution and 'Dr Cool' himself – the super-smart
dolphin biologist, Tilen Genov
2019 – the last time that the award was given – our much missed
colleague Paul Jepson – also removed from our community much before he should
have been – and I have been struck as I have walked the halls here how much of
the research presented has been underpinned by the work that he and his team
did over the years. Paul we again send you our love and appreciation.
These are some of the giants on whose shoulders we stand.
Please
could you now practice your applause for all these people.
[There is loud
applause and a modicum of whooping.]
Not bad!
So we need to find someone of suitable caliber to add to this distinguished list. Please take a look around.
Of course it might also help if the person was highly distinguished, has conducted decades of ground-breaking research, inspired generations of students and – as everyone who knows them tells me – is an exceptionally nice person.
As the
previous winner, Paul sadly cannot be with us, let me now ask one of the
previous award winners to join me on stage to facilitate the passing on of the
award picture … please welcome Tilen Genov.
[More
applause.]
Let me just
read a little bit to you from the
proposal made to the awards committee –
“[He] is
one of the last representatives of Renaissance-type marine mammalogists, with
an encyclopaedic knowledge of the subject collected through an incredibly broad
range of species, habitats, and geographies. Second, he has strived throughout his
professional life to apply his knowledge to conservation. Third, he has
dedicated huge commitment and passion to the transmission of his knowledge to a
multitude of students and the wider public.”
And ladies
and gentlemen, it would also make my life a lot easier if they had already been
introduced to you at this meeting because his CV is incredibly long (and
available on Wikipedia) and this is indeed the case…..
 |
| Bernd Würsig and his wife Melany with the Conservation award picture. |
Thanks to Rob Lott for the Walrus picture and Laetitia Nunny for the photo of Bernd and Melany.
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