Twenty years of marine mammal research in Europe

Abstract

This special issue on marine mammals marks the 20th anniversary of the European Cetacean Society (ECS). The Society's 2006 conference was held in Gdynia, Poland in April, with the theme of ‘Marine mammals and man in coastal ecosystems: can they co-exist?’ Several of the papers contained in this volume describe work that was presented at this conference, and most relate to research carried out by ECS members.

Marine mammals in time: past, present and future

“…In the history of whale research and whaling (Slijper, 1962; Tønnessen & Johnsen, 1982), as in the history of the European Cetacean Society (ECS) (Evans et al , 2007), the Dutch have played a prominent role, alongside countries like the UK, Norway, Denmark and Spain. However, it was only during the 2006 annual ECS conference in Gdynia (Poland) that the idea of organizing the Society's 2008 conference in The Netherlands came to fruition.…”