Dr. Charles “Stormy” Mayo, Director of the Center for Coastal Studies’ Right Whale Ecology Program, will be honored by lawmakers tomorrow on Massachusetts Right Whale Day, at an event at the New England Aquarium.
Mayo is retiring next month after a distinguished 48-year career at the Center for Coastal Studies. He co-founded the organization in 1976 alongside Dr. Graham Giese and the late Dr. Barbara Shuler Mayo.
His leadership in the Right Whale Ecology Program significantly advanced the study and protection of the endangered North Atlantic right whale, and aided in the designation of Stellwagen Bank as a National Marine Sanctuary and in spotlighting Cape Cod Bay as a crucial right whale habitat.
A pioneer in the development of whale disentanglement techniques, Mayo’s work also helped establish the Marine Animal Entanglement Response program, now a leader in global whale rescue efforts.
North Atlantic right whales are an endangered species, with a total population estimated at just 350 individuals. One of their most important habitats is Cape Cod Bay. For the past 30 years, researchers at the Center for Coastal Studies have worked to learn more about right whales, their use of Cape Cod Bay and their habitat requirements. The Center’s current research includes aerial surveillance, habitat and food resource monitoring and investigation into the acoustic behavior of right whales.
The public is invited to the event, from 11 am to 12:30 pm, at the New England Aquarium’s Harbor Terrace Tent, 1 Central Wharf, Boston.
The event is being co-hosted by the Massachusetts Environmental Trust (MET), the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) and the Department of Fish & Game’s Division of Marine Fisheries.
About the Center for Coastal Studies
The Center for Coastal Studies (CCS) in Provincetown MA is a non-profit organization dedicated to understanding, preserving and protecting marine ecosystems and the coastal environment through applied research, education and public policy initiatives. For more information go to: www.coastalstudies.org.
