Dear Colleagues,
Today marks the first anniversary of the passing of Dr. Ian Stirling on 14 May 2024. 
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 more than five decades, his work transformed our understanding of polar bears, seals, and other marine mammals across both polar regions. His meticulous long-term studies revealed the profound effects of climate change on Arctic ecosystems, and he was among the earliest scientists to articulate the risks posed by sea ice loss to polar bears.
Ian was a charter member and Life Member of the Society for Marine Mammalogy and served as its President from 1996 to 1998—the first Canadian to do so. He was also a founding member of the original editorial board for Marine Mammal Science and was honoured with the Society’s Norris Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2013. His influence extended beyond his own science: he mentored dozens of students, collaborated widely, and worked tirelessly to ensure that traditional knowledge and community partnerships informed wildlife research and conservation.
Ian’s deep commitment to science communication also left a lasting mark. His five books on polar bears helped bring the Arctic into the public imagination and remain essential reading for anyone seeking to understand these iconic animals and the threats they face.
On a personal note, I corresponded with Ian over many years and always looked forward to catching up with him at our biennial meetings. Some years ago, he sent me his original field notebooks from the late 1960s and early 1970s, when he was working on fur seals and sea lions at the South Neptune Islands in South Australia. They now sit in an archive box in my office titled The Stirling Chronicles—a gift I treasure deeply. That gesture, like so many of Ian’s, spoke to his kindness, generosity, and enduring passion for marine mammal science.
Ian was a devoted husband, father, and grandfather, and a cherished friend to many in our community. Even in retirement, he continued his fieldwork in the Arctic and Antarctic and remained an active voice for conservation. He was a remarkable scientist and human being who had an incredible impact on our field and on our Society.
We honour his legacy—with respect, gratitude, and remembrance.
Warm regards,
Simon Goldsworthy
President, Society for Marine Mammalogy
Dr. Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de Leon
Presidente Constitucional de Los Estados Unidos Mexicanos
Residencia Oficial de Los Piños
Mexico DF
Mexico
Dear President Zedillo:
The Society for Marine Mammalogy is an international society of over 1300 scientists who study whales, dolphins, seals, and other marine mammals. It is the largest professional society in the world dedicated to the study of marine mammals.
As you know, the vaquita (Phocoena sinus) is a species of porpoise endemic to Mexico, found only in a small area in the northeastern Gulf of California. The population is currently estimated to have only 200-300 animals, making it one of the world’s rarest cetaceans. Because of its small population size, limited range, and vulnerability to fishing nets, the vaquita is in immediate danger of extinction. It is officially recognized as a species in danger of extinction in Mexico (Norma Oficial Mexicana, 16 May 1994). It is one of only two cetaceans in the world (the other is the Baiji, a river dolphin in China) classified as critically endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Because this porpoise occurs only in Mexico, its fate depends on the actions of your government. No species of cetacean has gone extinct in modern time, and it would be very sad if the first extinction were to occur in Mexico.
At the recent World Marine Mammal Conference in Monaco, organized by our society together with the European Cetacean Society, researchers from Mexico’s Secretariat of the Environment, Natural Resources and Fisheries (SEMARNAP/INP) presented a report on the efforts your government is making to save this unique species from extinction. We were very pleased to learn of the formation of the International Committee for the Recovery of the Vaquita, coordinated by the Instituto Nacional de la Pesca. At its first meeting, the Committee considered several threats to the population, and concluded that the most important immediate threat to the population is mortality in fishing nets. This is not a problem unique to vaquitas; fishing nets are a threat to cetaceans throughout the world. The Committee also recommended research on the distribution, abundance, and behavior of vaquitas, which the INP has promptly begun to carry out.
The Society for Marine Mammalogy commends you and the government of Mexico for their excellent efforts directed towards the conservation of Phocoena sinus. We support the efforts of the Committee to develop a recovery plan for the vaquita that will reduce the threats to the population. By its actions, Mexico is setting an example for other countries to follow in the preservation of biodiversity. The Society will follow with great interest further actions of your government to prevent the extinction of the vaquita.
Sincerely,
Ian Stirling, Ph.D.
President
cc: Dr.a Julia Carabias Lillo
Dr. Antonio Díaz de Leon