Society for Marine Mammalogy News

February 13, 2026

Kenneth S. Norris Lifetime Achievement Award 2026 Recipient

Dear Fellow Members of the Society for Marine Mammalogy, The Society for Marine Mammalogy established the Kenneth S. Norris Lifetime Achievement Award in honor of the Society’s founding President and one of the most influential figures in our history, Dr. Kenneth S. Norris. The award recognizes exemplary lifetime contributions to science and society through research, […]

Read more

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 […]

Read more

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 […]

Read more

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 […]

Read more

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 […]

Read more