two sperm whales swimming together in the ocean

Events

ACS-OC hosts local events and free monthly webinars, featuring speakers and experts who will share their insights, passion, and work on all things cetaceans. Explore our events and RSVP!

Festival of Whales

Date: Saturday March 2, 2024

Mark your calendars now! Come back and see us at our ACS OC booths at the 53rd annual Dana Point Festival of Whales! Our booths will be located outside of Capt Dave’s Dolphin Safari (near baby beach), and Dana Wharf Whale Watching. Stop by to check out our whale artifacts and to meet our naturalists! We look forward to seeing you in beautiful Dana Point Harbor to celebrate the annual return of the California gray whales as they grace our coast during their annual, awe-inspiring migration.

Festival of Whales logo
Team members from ASC-OC at a booth
Team members from ASC-OC at a booth

Local Events

ACS-OC is a regular exhibitor at popular local events including the Dana Point Festival of Whales, Imaginology STEAM Fair, KelpFest, Earth Day at the Bay, and Prehistoric OC.

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Festival of Whales

Date: Saturday March 2, 2024
Time: 10 AM - 2 PM
Mark your calendars now! Come back and see us at our ACS OC booths at the 53rd annual Dana Point Festival of Whales! Our booths will be located outside of Capt Dave’s Dolphin Safari (near baby beach), and Dana Wharf Whale Watching. Stop by to check out our whale artifacts and to meet our naturalists! We look forward to seeing you in beautiful Dana Point Harbor to celebrate the annual return of the California gray whales as they grace our coast during their annual, awe-inspiring migration.

Previous Speaker Events

Explore our previous events and view recordings.
Antarctic minke whales are rarely seen and remain poorly studied because of their cryptic nature and preferred habitat deep in the Antarctic sea ice.
Comparative anatomist Joy Reidenberg studies the anatomy (body structure) of many different animals, but her favorites are cetaceans. Her lecture will cover the many unique anatomical adaptations that allow whales to survive as mammals in an aquatic environment.
Blue whales that seasonally use the southeastern Gulf of California, particularly the Loreto Bay National Park during winter and spring, have been monitored for more than three decades from the research center CICIMAR-IPN, based in La Paz, Baja California Sur in Mexico.
A history of marine mammal research in Central America, with discussion on the challenges this dynamic community of scientists face in terms of representation, language barriers, training, and funding.
New technology like drones have immense potential in cetacean science and conservation as cost-effective, scalable, adaptable, and non-invasive tools.
Dr. David Weller has been studying the biology and ecology of whales and dolphins for 40 years. His specialization is in the areas of wildlife science, population assessment and evaluation of potential disturbance impacts from human activities. He received his Ph.D. in Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences from Texas A&M University in 1998. Prior to that, he completed B.A. and M.A. degrees at the University of Hawaii and San Diego State University, respectively. He has been in residence at Southwest Fisheries Science Center since 1998.
The talk will discuss the impacts of climate change on Arctic marine mammals. Case studies will be presented on the ecology of polar bears and narwhals around Greenland.
Dr. Giles will give an overview of Wild Orca’s Southern Resident Killer Whale Health Monitoring Program as well as a summary of collaborative research projects being conducted by some of the most respected names in wildlife conservation research. Together, these projects paint a near real-time picture of the health of endangered Southern Resident killer whales and provide timely data to the public and management agencies used to understand and address the causes of population decline.
Two chapters, two speakers, one amazing night celebrating all things beluga! Building community around Alaska’s critically endangered Cook Inlet belugas with Suzanne Steinert + Beluga ecology and conservation — Insights from transdisciplinary research in Alaska and the Canadian Arctic with Kimberly Ovitz
Penguins serve as indicators of environmental change, sounding the alarm on overfishing, marine pollution, introduced predators, shifting ocean temperatures, and more. By studying penguins in the wild, we not only learn about the ecology of our changing planet, but we can use our observations to develop conservation actions that will protect seabirds, other marine predators, and entire ocean ecosystems. Join Dr. Caroline Cappello as she shares photos, stories, and lessons learned from her work with Galápagos penguins in the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador, and Magellanic penguins in southern Argentina.
Up until recently, twenty captive orcas were residing in North America. I will present the scientific evidence for the poor welfare of captive orcas and discuss and update the development of an authentic whale sanctuary in Nova Scotia by the Whale Sanctuary Project.
Since we last saw Stephen in January 2020, he has travelled by sea to the over a dozen global locations. What has he seen and what excited him most? Join us to hear stories and see his wildlife photos
The resident island-associated population of false killer whales in Hawai‘i was listed as Endangered in 2012. Despite a lot of research before and after 2012, little has been done to protect this population, and it has been declining steadily since.
Steven Swartz will discuss the current impacts of climate change on the Arctic's seasonal marine food production and how that is affecting marine species like gray whales
Professor Williamson will introduce North Atlantic Right Whales including their natural history, conservation status and current research. The effects of climate change on this species will also be discussed.
Humpback Whales of Tonga and Maui
Beluga whales are smaller-sized whales that are very social and inhabit Arctic and sub-Arctic waters. They are rarely reported outside of this range. However, in October 2021, a lone beluga appeared in the waters of the Pacific Northwest (PNW) and remained in the area for approximately a month. This presentation will describe the biology and ecology of whales; the case of the lone PNW whale; and current threats and challenges that face wild populations of beluga.
Southern Resident Killer Whales with Erin Gless! Learn more about these killer whales, what challenges they face, and what's being done to try to save this unique population.
Dr. Cristina Castro is an Ecuadorian researcher and principal investigator for Pacific Whale Foundation Ecuador, where she has been leading PWF’s field studies on humpback whales in Machalilla National Park since 2001.
Biologist at MarEcoTel and Cascadia Research Collective - Fin Whales
California Stranding Coordinator for NOAA’s Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program
Conservation Biologist, Executive Director of SoCal Sea Turtles
Director and Coordinator of the full-season shore-based ACS-LA Gray Whale Census and Behavior Project.
Bioacoustician, lead research assistant and project manager at NOAA/NMFS/AFSC Marine Mammal Laboratory
Wildlife photographer, creator of Orange County Outdoors
CSULB Shark Lab Director, Marine Biology Professor
Interpretative Ecologist, Catalina Island Conservancy
Marine mammal scientist, Director of Education at Pacific Marine Mammal Center
Co-founder of Happywhale.com, and co-owner of Cheesemans’ Ecology Safaris
Co-Founder and former president of ACS-OC
Professor, OCC Marine Science Department

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