The World Cetacean Alliance (WCA) is delighted that our world-first ‘Becoming ‘’Whale Aware’’ online training course will now be made available to more than a million maritime professionals, thanks to a new partnership with Ocean Technologies Group (OTG)!
Collisions with vessels at sea, also known as ship strikes, are a major cause of death for large cetaceans such as the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale. As marine traffic around the world increases, so too does the risk of these deadly collisions.
That’s why, in 2020, the WCA launched ‘Becoming ‘Whale Aware”, the first online training course to protect whales from ship strikes, based on the most up-to-date scientific information and with support from Noble Caledonia Charitable Trust.
Harry Eckman, CEO of the WCA, said:
“The WCA is thrilled to be working with OTG to host our ‘Whale Aware’ course on their Ocean Learning Platform. It’s a hugely important relationship that puts our course within reach of over one million seafarers and provides training that can potentially save the lives of thousands of whales.”
This will be the first course on OTG’s Ocean Learning Platform that is specifically developed to help ship owners and operators educate crew on measures to reduce the risk of ship strikes.
Joost Van Ree, Group Director Cruise & Yachts for OTG, said:
“Being able to offer this whale awareness e-learning is of huge interest and benefit to our customers for whom protecting the enivorment is a high priority. It is particularly important for our cruise industry clients who are huge advocates of ensuring crew understand the actions that they can take to protect marine habitats. This partnership with the WCA will prove to be invaluable in helping OLP users to protect our marine ecosystem for future generations.”
The WCA hopes that, by partnering with OTG, our training will reach more crews worldwide and, ultimately, save more whales from this preventable danger.
Header image: A right whale mother with ship strike injuries; photo by Fabien Vivier, Murdoch University, Australia, taken under research permit.
