The turbulent relationship between whales and humans

MEDIA RELEASE

TUESDAY, JULY 5, 2016

The turbulent relationship between whales and humans

The special place of whales in New Zealand’s history will be celebrated in this year’s University of Auckland Winter Lectures series, Whales and Us: the past, present and future.

Tracing the history of whales from the slaughter of colonial times to their present place as icons of conservation, this six-lecture series presents a fascinating insight into the way in which whale and human lives have long intertwined in the Pacific.

Organisers and presenters Dr Rochelle Constantine and Dr Ryan Tucker Jones have put together a series that considers “the extraordinary, difficult, bloody and political relationship between whales and humans throughout New Zealand’s history and into its future”.

The two University of Auckland lecturers will be joined by Sir Geoffrey Palmer, former Prime Minister of New Zealand and International Whaling Commissioner; Olive Andrews, Marine Programme Manager, Conservation International; Professor C. Scott Baker, University of Auckland and Oregon State University; and Sue Taei, Executive Director of Conservation International.

“Whalers played a crucial role in our colonial history and we had a thriving whaling industry for many years until stocks were decimated,” Dr Constantine says. “Today, whales have taken on new importance for Māori and Pakeha New Zealanders as cultural symbols and generators of tourist revenue.”

Topics within the series include the way in which whales themselves have changes substantially during the course of their interaction with humans; how whales are faring post-whaling and how science is helping us chart their recovery; how whaling went from being a major industry to a leading environmental issue; the illegal, unregulated or unreported exploitation of whales; the technology of molecular genetics and genomics that provides powerful tools for the detection of this exploitation and tracking of whales in trade; and the choices humans face today in deciding their relationship with whales in the future.

The free lecture series runs on consecutive Tuesday afternoons from 1-2pm in the University of Auckland general library, starting Tuesday July 19 and ending Tuesday August 23. Visit www.winterlectures.ac.nzfor more information.

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