CENTER FOR OCEANIC RESEARCH AND  EDUCATION

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2 Humpback whales displaying cooperative feeding

 CORE: The Center for Oceanic Research and Education (CORE, based in Gloucester, MA, is a non-profit organization dedicated to the study and conservation of cetaceans. Cetaceans are whales, dolphins and porpoises. Their mission is to promote stewardship and conservation of cetaceans and their marine environment. CORE is a labor of love, founded in 1996, by three friends - Lisa Fox, Josh Miller and Paula Pippin-Miller. CORE earned its non-profit status in 1999. The Millers have since moved on to other ventures, and as of October 2006, Lisa Fox has stepped down. CORE's newly appointed Director is Sarah Podleski and the new Assistant Director is Lauren Noble.


CORE's research focuses primarily upon the populations of fin and humpback whales found in the inshore waters of New England. They have several on-going research projects with the goal of developing papers on such varied subjects as hierarchy within humpback whale social and feeding groups, to observations of sperm whales and beaked whale species in offshore submarine canyons. Their dual mission of research and education works perfectly aboard the commercial whale watches at the Yankee Fleet. While conducting daily data collection and research on the whales encountered, CORE researchers simultaneously are able to educate tens of thousands of passengers each year about whales, their ecosystem and the delicate marine habitat off the coast of New England.

In collaboration with other research organizations, CORE's research focuses primarily upon the populations of fin and humpback whales found in the inshore waters of New England. We are currently working on several projects including:

  • a study regarding the hierarchy among social/feeding groups of humpback whales.
  • novel feeding behavior (the use of bubbles) in fin whales.
  • shifts in distribution of whale species over time.
  • on-going studies include photo-identification studies of humpback whales, fin whales, sperm whales, Northern right whales, minke whales and pilot whales.  

Through whale watch education programs, school presentations and public outreach activities, CORE hopes to educate people about endangered whales and their fragile marine environment.

CORE's staff researchers conduct most of their research aboard the Yankee Fleet's whale watching vessels out of Gloucester, Massachusetts. These opportunistic whale watching trips allow CORE coverage of the Stellwagen Bank and Jeffrey's Ledge areas, primarily in the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary (http://www.stellwagen.noaa.gov) By studying both of these feeding areas within the Gulf of Maine ecosystem, we hope to better understand the important factors and issues affecting the whale populations found in these New England waters.

 

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