News from the President and Board

Meet SMM President, Simon Goldsworthy
I have been a member of the SMM for over 30 years. After completing my BSc (1987) and PhD (1993) at Monash University (Melbourne, Australia), I undertook a Post-doctoral Research Fellowship with the Smithsonian Institution (Washington DC). Since then, I have principally worked as a government scientist in multiple agencies, but also as an academic (La Trobe University, Melbourne), and am currently an Affiliate Professor with The University of Adelaide and Flinders University (South Australia). For almost two-decades I have worked as a Principal Scientist with the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI) in Adelaide (South Australia), where my research has focused on mitigating marine mammal interactions with fisheries and aquaculture, and the population and foraging ecology of recovering long-nosed fur seals, and the endangered Australian sea lion.
Within the SMM I have acted on the Board of Editors for Marine Mammal Science (2007- 2014), and on the SMM Board as a Member at Large (2010-2014), and most recently as President-elect (2020-2022). As President I wish to enhance the Society’s visibility, impact and the opportunities for members and students to communicate and promote their research. The world’s ecological and climate systems are facing unprecedented threats from human impacts, and the rapidity of change is placing extreme pressure on many marine mammal species and their ecosystems. I believe that at no time has the Society’s mission to promote the global advancement of marine mammal science and increase its relevance and impact in education, conservation and management been so important.
October 13, 2020
by Charles Littnan
The Society for Marine Mammalogy is pleased to announce a substantive change to its Small Grant in Aid of Research (SGIAR) program. Beginning with the 2021 funding cycle, applicants can request a portion of the award to be allocated as a stipend. Specifically, SGIAR guidelines now allow applicants to provide “a detailed one-year, itemized budget […]
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August 30, 2020
by Charles Littnan
Aloha SMM Members- The Society for Marine Mammalogy began its journey some five decades ago. Our first focus was bringing marine mammal professionals together on a regular basis to share our science- thus our biennial conferences were born. Following that publication of Marine Mammal Science, our flagship science product, was started to disseminate our science […]
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by Charles Littnan
Aloha Everyone- Just wanted to post a short update to let you know that the planning is still going on for the our digital meeting to continue the conversation on unpaid internships. My original hope was to have it happen in August but we have passed that deadline. We have pulled together most of the […]
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July 21, 2020
by Charles Littnan
I wanted to put out a quick update on behalf of the Society for Marine Mammalogy Board regarding the petition related to unpaid internships and the subsequent discussion on MARMAM and beyond. It is encouraging to see ongoing dialogue and the evolution of various positions as more voices and perspectives engage on the issue. At […]
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June 4, 2020
by D. Ann Pabst
Dear Marine Mammal Science Community, A core tenet of the Society for Marine Mammalogy is that our science is strengthened by the participation of people representing all ages, races, national, cultural, and socio-economic backgrounds, genders, gender identities, sexual orientations, and physical abilities. Our science is at its best when all voices are at the table. […]
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