Society for Marine Mammalogy News

January 21, 2026

SMM Website Restored + Key Deadline Extensions

Dear Marine Mammal Science Community, We are pleased to share an update regarding the Society for Marine Mammalogy (SMM) website and the extension of key SMM deadlines. Over the past week, we experienced technical difficulties with our main website. To address the issue, the site was temporarily placed into maintenance mode while we took the […]

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January 5, 2026

Louis M. Herman Research Scholarship – Call for Applications

Dear Society Members, Are you an early career researcher working in cetacean cognition and sensory perception, or in humpback whale behavioral ecology or communication? Applications are now open for the Louis M. Herman Research Scholarship—read on for details on this exciting opportunity! BACKGROUND Louis M. Herman, Ph.D. and Emeritus Professor at the University of Hawaii […]

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September 30, 2025

Presidential Letter on the Impacts of Ural Saddle Dredging and Kalamkas-Sea-Khazar Oil Field Development on Caspian Seal Habitat

View a PDF of the signed letter, in English and Russian, concerning Caspian seal conservation, dated 22 September 2025. Open Letter To Mr. Akkenzhenov Ye.K., Minister of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and Others engaged in the dredging of a shipping channel across the Ural Saddle area in the northeast Caspian in relation to […]

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May 15, 2025

Remembering Ian Stirling (1941–2024)

Dear Colleagues, 14 May 2024 marked the first anniversary of the passing of Dr. Ian Stirling. The Society for Marine Mammalogy pauses to remember and celebrate his extraordinary life and enduring legacy. Ian was a pioneer in polar bear ecology and one of the world’s foremost authorities on Arctic marine mammals. Over a career spanning […]

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March 17, 2025

EBS Award Application Deadline Extended – Apply by March 28, 2025 (Midnight UTC)

  The application deadline for the Emily B. Shane (EBS) Award has been extended to March 28, 2025, at midnight (00:00 UTC). The EBS Award supports conservation-oriented, non-invasive field research on free-ranging odontocetes and sirenians. The award honors Emily B. Shane (1924–1995), a dedicated conservationist and amateur naturalist. Funding is awarded to projects with clear […]

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