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Voyage of the Odyssey
PBS View previous updates from the 5.5 year Voyage on PBS online.

www.pbs.org/odyssey
To learn more about the Voyage, click here.
Latest Odyssey Log Latest Odyssey Log

August 17, 2005
"We Did It! The Voyage Comes Home to Boston"
"Today at 10am, the Research Vessel Odyssey sailed into Boston harbor after almost five and a half years studying sperm whales and ocean pollution on all oceans around the world."
Read more on PBS >>
Voyage of the Odyssey
DOMETIC joins the Ocean Alliance.
To read more about other partners of the Ocean Alliance, click here.
ICB
The Instituto de Concervacion de Ballenas in Patagonia, Argentina has been a long term part of the Right Whale Research Program.


Ocean Alliance, Inc., a 501(c)3 organization, was founded in 1971 by biologist Roger Payne. Led by Dr. Payne and Chief Executive Officer Iain Kerr, Ocean Alliance collects a broad spectrum of data on whales and ocean life relating particularly to toxicology, behavior, bioacoustics, and genetics. From that data we work with our scientific partners to advise educators and policy makers on wise stewardship of the oceans to: reduce pollution, prevent the collapse of marine mammal populations, maintain human access to fish and other sea life, and benefit ocean and human health.

"Nobody did worse than he who did nothing for fear he could only do a little." - Edmund Burke

If you would like to support Ocean Alliance, please click on the Donate Now link below.

Online donation system by ClickandPledge

NEWS-

Paint Factory @ low tide
Paint Factory @ low tide
FREE OPEN HOUSE AND ART SHOW AT THE PAINT MANUFACTORY

GLOUCESTER, MA, September 4, 2008 ­ Ocean Alliance welcomes you to a free Open House and Art Show at the Tarr and Wonson Paint Manufactory. Open house dates and times are:

Saturday October 25th from 10AM - 3PM & Sunday October 26th from 10AM - 2PM

Transportation to the art show and open house will be provided from the Cape Ann Whale Watch offices, 415 Main Street, Gloucester, MA.

The art show has been made possible with support from the Rocky Neck Art Colony.

Download a PDF formatted flier for the event!

Paint Factory, view west
Paint Factory, view west
Paint Factory, view east
Paint Factory, view east

OCEAN ALLIANCE PURCHASES ICONIC LANDMARK IN GLOUCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS

LINCOLN, MA, June 10, 2008 ­ Ocean Alliance announced today that it will purchase for--preservation and restoration-- the iconic Tarr and Wonson Paint Manufactory located at the entrance to the inner harbor of Gloucester, Massachusetts. The historic 1863 site will be saved for marine use as a future oceanographic research center to be operated by Ocean Alliance.
Visit the OA Paint Factory Website
Read the Gloucester Times article

Captain Kerr on Odyssey
NPR's Living On Earth visits the Odyssey

BAD NEWS FROM THE BLUBBER

GLOUCESTER, Mass., February 15, 2008 ­ It's Living on Earth. I'm Steve Curwood. Gloucester Harbor—north of Boston—is perhaps best known as a fishing port. It's also where the 93-foot ketch "Odyssey" is docked. The Odyssey is a unique research vessel. It's designed to study the behavior and biology of the world's largest and longest-lived mammals: whales . . .
Read the full transcript at National Public Radio's Living On Earth Website
Real Player audio of the broadcast
MP3 audio of the broadcast

52nd Annual Chevron Conservation Awards Honors Iain Kerr of Acton, Massachusetts for Work to Improve Ocean Environment.
SAN RAMON, Calif., October 6, 2006 ­ Iain Kerr has spent his life reversing the tide of pollution in the world's oceans. For his efforts to improve humanity¹s understanding of the threats facing whales and their ocean environment, Kerr was named one of six winners of the 52nd annual Chevron Conservation Awards.
View Video
Visit Chevron Web Page
Read more

Open Letter to the Youth of Japan From Roger Payne, PhD

At the 2005 & 2006 IWC meeting's Japan announced that it will add Humpback whales to its list of target hunted species. Although there is a zero quota in place for commercial whaling, Japan is doing what it claims to be "Scientific Whaling". Here's how it works: the International Whaling Commission allows nations to issue permits to its scientists to kill whales for research purposes. So Japan simply changed the name of what it was doing from 'Commercial Whaling' to 'Scientific Whaling' and the world now has to stand by helplessly, watching Japan kill whales for what is, as the Scientific Committee of the International Whaling Commission has pointed out repeatedly, a commercial hunt, not science.

Dr. Roger Payne
Dr. Roger Payne

Ocean Alliance founder and president, Dr. Roger Payne has written an open letter to the youth of Japan and has put one of his famous recordings of Humpback whale song on our Voyage of the Odyssey website for anyone to download for free.

Roger Payne -
"I am a biologist who has spent his life studying whales. Back in the 1960s, a colleague, Scott McVay, and I discovered that the long, hauntingly beautiful, uninterrupted streams of sounds that humpback whales make (sometimes for hours at a time) are actually rhythmic, repeated, patterns of sound, and that means that they are, properly speaking, songs . . . I have recorded humpback whales all over the world, and in doing so have found that every ocean basin has a unique song that all the humpback whales that live there sing. The most beautiful songs I ever heard came from humpback whales around Bermuda. A Bermudian friend of mine, Frank Watlington, made some of the best recordings. Later, I also recorded some lovely songs during the springs of the late 1960s. The whales were passing Bermuda as they migrated between Caribbean breeding grounds and feeding grounds much further to the north — singing as they went. "
Read the open letter from Dr. Roger Payne

Plastic Pollution
Plastic Pollution is an increasing problem for our oceans.

10 Things You Can Do to Save the Oceans.

There are many things people can do in their daily life to help our oceans - recycle used motor oil, don't throw heavy metals down the drain, be careful what you flush down the toilet and educated yourself about your household cleaners. These are some of the simple things recommended by Lisa Harrow - author of the book "What Can I Do?".
Click here for more information

Pacific Life Foundation Presents Ocean Alliance with Walter B. Gerken Community Service Award

Ocean Alliance President Dr. Roger Payne, CEO Iain Kerr, and Board Co-Chairman Jeff Kunz were presented the 11th Annual Walter B. Gerken Community Service Award by the Pacific Life Foundation this afternoon at a reception held at Pacific Life's headquarters in Newport Beach, CA.

Pacific Life Award
Robert Haskell, President of the Pacific Life Foundation, said, "This award stands as a commendation to retired Pacific Life Chairman and CEO Walter B. Gerken and to the spirit of community involvement established by his predecessors and perpetuated by his successors. Mr. Gerken is a man intensely devoted to the betterment of society and a big supporter of those who share that devotion. We are proud to acknowledge Ocean Alliance as an organization that shares his heartfelt commitment."
Read more


SeaChange: Reversing the Tide & WHAT CAN I DO? By Lisa Harrow

SAVE THE WHALES
Purchase
What Can I Do?
from Chelsea Green
SeaChange Institute
SeaChange Institute website

Concern for the health of our planet led award-winning actress Lisa Harrow and her husband, Ocean Alliance founder and President Roger Payne, to create the performance piece SeaChange: Reversing the Tide. But Lisa and Roger found that, following performances of their show, audience members frequently wanted to know: What can I do to help? What can we all do to stop the destructive impact of our current way of life?

What Can I Do? is Lisa's response, a guidebook on how to take action. The book is written as "An Alphabet for Living," providing readers with an extensive annotated list of Web sites where anyone can begin to explore the practices of sustainable living.

Buy the book online - http://chelseagreen.com/2004/items/whatcanido

Visit the What Can I Do? website - a program of the Ocean Alliance - http://www.whatcanidousa.org


Do you need to contact the OCEAN ALLIANCE? Click here for more information or call us at 1-800-96WHALE (1-800-969-4253).

Ocean Alliance is a donor driven, non-profit organization. We need your help to ensure continual funding for our vital research and education. Donate now online through Network for Good.

VISIT THE WHALE SHOP

Visit the Ocean Alliance Whale Shop for some great gift ideas! You can order securely online via PAYPAL.

Membership Drive

Please take the time to join Ocean Alliance.
Ocean Alliance depends on support from individuals to allow us to continue our essential research, education and conservation of whales and their ocean environment. By supporting our work today, you contribution will help us:

  • Continue the Voyage of the Odyssey
  • Continue to produce world-class research
  • Educate students and adults all around the world about the health of the oceans
  • Present our findings to politicians, scientists and individuals to help promote sustainable environmental laws and healthy conservation policies that preserve our natural world.
No contribution is too small and helps us accomplish all this and more. A $25 membership gets:
  • A 10% discount on Ocean Alliance gifts, t-shirts, cards and more.
  • Newsletters updating you on the Odyssey's adventures.
  • And more!
Learn more about how to donate now by clicking here.

Voyage of the Odyssey
The Voyage of the Odyssey is now a part of PBS Online. During the entire five year Voyage of the Odyssey, we will post daily Odyssey crew reports from the bridge along with photos, film clips and our data on whale sightings utilizing our new satellite dish.

We will continue to broadcast Dr. Roger Payne's "Voice from the Sea" where he will share his thoughts on the progress of the voyage and its implications for science and life on earth. Look through past archived material on our site, or view the latest at http://www.pbs.org/odyssey on PBS Online.

"The Voyage of the Odyssey will take the world with it via the Internet so that everyone gets to share in the adventure and learn new things about the seas at the same moment we are learning about them."
Dr. Roger Payne

"The enviromental crisis we face, provides us with the most singular opportunity for greatness ever offered to any generation in any civilization."
Dr. Roger Payne

To listen to audio and view video on this site, download the latest version of the free
REALONE Player "basic"

All text, video, and images on this website are © 2002 Ocean Alliance unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved.

>> Website Credits

Whale Conservation Institute
was founded in 1971 by Dr. Roger Payne to protect whales and their ocean environment through scientific research and education.
Read More
CAPTAIN IAIN KERR
Captain Iain Kerr, CEO/VP of the Ocean Alliance discusses the Voyage of the Odyssey
Real Audio: >28k
John WiseJohn Pierce Wise, Sr., Ph.D, the Director of the Maine Center for Toxicology and Environmental Health and Associate Professor of Toxicology and Molecular Epidemiology at the Wise Laboratory of Environmental and Genetic Toxicology, University of Southern Maine has accepted the role as Director of Toxicology for Ocean Alliance.
Read More
Patrick Stewart
Patrick Stewart speaks about the importance of the Voyage of the Odyssey in Monterey, California.
Real Audio: >28k >56k
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