Australians love the beach and the marine environment. But for many of us, we don’t understand the importance of it. And that means we tend to make bad decisions: about recreation (when and where to swim); about industry (how to manage agriculture and marine industries); conservation (how best to protect the marine environment). What’s more, the distribution and habits of marine species, such as whales, are changing rapidly with climate. Responding to this needs a cross-generational approach where information is accessible and relatable.
Dr Vanessa Pirotta is using her science to directly connect people to the importance of marine life. From Play School to politicians (decision makers), her research documents changes in marine mammal behaviour via long term datasets and drone observations. She works within teams, across multi agencies and the general community (in person and via social media) to mitigate negative whale/human interactions and provide timely messages via the media to help keep them safe. She is also documenting unknown whale species occurrence and behaviour to help understand changes in the ocean and important areas to conserve. By working with Indigenous knowledge holders, like the Gamay Rangers, Vanessa is merging Traditional Knowledge with Western Science to help protect whales, dolphins and fur seals in Australian waters. The more we know, the better we can protect.