Associate Director Scott Baker and Research Assistant Debbie Steel are in Apia, Samoa for a meeting of the South Pacific Whale Research Consortium, hosted by the South Pacific Regional Environment Progamme (SPREP). The Consortium includes 36 independent researchers active in 10 Pacific Island nations or territories, extending from Melanesia in the west to the far extreme of Polynesia in the east. SPREP is an inter-governmental agency active under the United Nations Environment Programme. The meeting is focusing on a comprehensive assessment of the status of humpback whales breeding throughout Oceania and on the species identity and diversity of dolphins throughout the South Pacific.
Tourist note: The SPREP campus is just a short walk from the grave of Robert Louis Stevenson, the author of Treasure Island, who was much beloved by the people of Samoa.