PONANT has announced that Richard Sidey has received the prestigious Director’s Award at the International Ocean Film Festival (IOFF) 2021 for his remarkable documentary ‘Whales in a Changing Ocean’.
Conducted by the NGO, Conservation International, while aboard PONANT’s ship small luxury expedition ship L’Austral, the film follows a study on the ecology of humpback whales in the Antarctic Research mission in the heart of Antarctica
As part of the PONANT Foundation’s ongoing commitment to sustainable tourism, in February 2020 a Conservation International research team of six scientists spent three weeks on board L’Austral in Antarctica.
With the assistance of the ship’s Captain and PONANT’s team of naturalist-guides, their mission to gather and analyse information on the distribution, genetics and acoustics of whales was very successful, with a total of 60 whales identified and 16 hours of underwater recordings registered.
The purpose of the study was to gain a better understanding of how the sounds of whales, whose feeding habits play a unique role in the food chain, interact with the sounds of ice and ships.
As an indicator, the study can help better understand how ice changes have an impact on humpback whales, and more generally on the health of our oceans.
“This innovative polar science partnership model is based on international collaboration and will support tourism best practices in this unique and sensitive Antarctic ecosystem.
Protection of Antarctica is not only critical for the adaptation of marine life to climate change but also as the resource on which polar tourism relies.
Our work aims to the creation of essential marine protected areas in Antarctica, contributing to the long-term conservation and management of the polar seas” explains Olive Andrews, Conservation International’s lead marine scientist and Antarctic expedition leader.
This research mission compliments broader ongoing research in the Pacific Islands. Andrews noted, ‘By understanding whale ecology across their entire migration area, we can better understand how the whales are faring and consider conservation solutions.
In the Pacific, the ocean underpins the way of life.
Whales are an indicator of the ocean’s health. Protecting whales helps to protect Pacific Islanders’ wellbeing, and more broadly the polar seas upon which we all depend’.
Find out more about this humpback whale preservation mission in this short summary film
Richard Sidey, a veteran filmmaker specialising in wildlife, joined the scientists on this research mission for 20 days aboard L’Austral. Based in New Zealand, this nature lover has won numerous awards for his Speechless trilogy, the final chapter Elementa having been released last year to critical acclaim.
Whales in a Changing Ocean will be shown in San Francisco at the 18th International Ocean Film Festival, an international festival of independent ocean-related films which runs from 15 April to 2 May 2021.
Click to Find out more about the International Ocean Film Festival.
Click here to watch the whole documentary.
The PONANT Foundation and Conservation International mission to preserve humpback whales in the Antarctic is part of a wider ranging partnership between the PONANT Foundation and Conservation International. Their shared goal is to protect biodiversity and raise awareness about its importance.
Some other projects of the Foundation include helping protect coral reefs in New Caledonia and supporting reforestation in the Amazon.
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