PROVINCETOWN – The Center for Coastal Studies recently welcomed conservationists from three Brazilian NGOs to participate in entanglement response training as part of an international effort to train and deploy emergency responders.
The participants, which came from the Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Bioversidade, Instituto Argonauta para Conservação Costeira e Marinha, and VIVA Instituto Verde Azul, joined CCS staff members at the Hiebert Lab in Provincetown under the International Whaling Commission’s Global Whale Entanglement Response Network.
Over 14 days, CCS staff shared their expertise in techniques and safety protocols for whale disentanglement, such as proper boat handling and navigation and freeing distressed whales from complex tangles, with simulations performed at sea aboard the Marine Animal Entanglement Response (MAER) vessel, the Ibis.
Participants said they plan to use the lessons learned during the apprenticeship to expand regional disentanglement efforts in Brazil.
“This training helped me to understand all the protocols related to human safety and whale safety,” said Mârcio Motta, from VIVA Instituto Verde Azul, “I learned a lot about disentanglement and how to organize such efforts. For me it was amazing.”
Center staff also reported that the course provided an opportunity to learn more about conservation efforts in Brazil.
“Working with these four colleagues was truly inspiring and gave our entire team a boost as we come out of an especially difficult year of disentanglement,” said Scott Landry, MAER director. “They were a blast to work with.”
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