NEWS RELEASE
CHRIS AND GENEVIEVE JOHNSON WILL PRESENT
THE VOYAGE OF THE ODYSSEY
A five-year Journey to assess the amount of
poisons in the ocean
with the help of Sperm Whales.
The presentation will take place on
November 21st at 9:30 AM
In Delano Auditorium at
Maine Maritime Academy
The multimedia presentation is in four parts:
1. The Voyage Mission and Track
2. Why Sperm Whales are Indicators
3. Whales of the World
4. How we can help the Ocean and its Inhabitants
Questions will be entertained at the end of the presentation.
The Voyage of the Odyssey is explained on the PBS website,
www.pbs.org/odyssey.
The website also includes information about the crew and stories
written to explain the project and the places visited.
A brief explanation of the Voyage and biographies of Chris and
Genevieve is attached to this announcement.
Chris Johnson – Filmmaker / Photojournalist / Researcher
Genevieve Johnson – Naturalist / Educator / Researcher
Chris & Genevieve Johnson are a husband and wife team who have just
completed a 5 and a half year scientific expedition circumnavigating
the globe aboard the Ocean Alliance’s 93 foot whale research vessel
Odyssey.
The chemical revolution of the past fifty years has produced thousands
of synthesized compounds. Among the most dangerous of these are a group
called Persistent Organic Pollutants (POP’s). Unfortunately,
these chemicals are pervasive and resistant to change, and accumulate
in the tissue of plants and animals, as they slowly make their way up
the food chain. ( POP’s include PCB’s and DDT’s)
The Voyage of the Odyssey is a multi-year scientific and educational
expedition designed to gather the first ever baseline dataset on the
concentration, distribution and potential effects of toxic contaminants
(POP’s) on whales and other marine life throughout the world’s oceans
using sperm whales as an indicator species.
Sperm whales – with their longevity, thick blubber, and position at the
top of the oceanic food chain – reveal levels of toxicity.
Ocean Alliance researchers collected tiny skin and blubber samples from
sperm whales from all oceans around the world.
These samples are being measured for man-made toxicants (POPs) –
artificial products introduced to the environment due to human activity
such as dumping of industrial wastes and use of pesticides and
herbicides and for heavy metals including mercury.
The Voyage of the Odyssey is a multi-disciplinary program that
conducted research in toxicology, genetics, bioacoustics and ecology of
sperm whales, The findings in these studies will set baseline
understandings, which will inform future scientific research and
environmental policy planning and assist in the conservation of whales.
Chris & Genevieve began with the launch of the Voyage in March 2000
in San Diego, CA which set out to answer two simple and vital questions
– how polluted are the world’s oceans and how seriously are whales and
humanity threatened by this pollution. Humans are also situated
at the top of oceanic food chains; therefore what we are finding in the
fats of these whales may have grave implications for humanity. Seventy
percent of humans rely on seafood globally - an estimated 4.2
billion people.
Through international scientific collaborations, the development and
successful implimentation of conservation initiatives, and educational
outreach in partnership with PBS, the Voyage of the Odyssey is a proven
platform for inspiring and educating people on marine issues –
www.pbs.org/odyssey
A major component of the Voyage is exploring, documenting and sharing
the experience of a global scientific expedition with people around the
world.
Chris & Genevieve produced educational reports called “Odyssey
Logs” for our award-winning PBS via satellite. They were
published 1-2 times per week and focused on the scientific research
conducted onboard, the natural history of whales and other marine life,
the human impacts on the marine environment as well as interviews with
scientists and conservationists around the world working to better
understand and preserve the ocean environment. The Voyage of the
Odyssey website is rich in diversity of material geared to a general
audience and is especially intended to reach school children and their
teachers.
Chris & Genevieve worked in 22 countries, visited over 121 ports,
gave multi-media presentations in partnership with local schools,
universities, museums, and aquariums to tens of thousands of students,
educators and government officials sharing their experiences with
whales, the science of the Voyage of the Odyssey, first hand accounts
with human impacts on the marine environment and how you can make a
difference.
Over 5 and a half years they collected a wide range of data on sperm
whales taking tiny tissue samples from over 1000 sperm whales and
documenting the expedition with over 450 audio and video reports taking
over 30,000 photographs and sailed over 87,000 miles on this modern day
epic oceanic voyage.
Some of the key areas Chris & Genevieve worked in were the Sea of
Cortez - Mexico, Galapagos Islands - Ecuador, Republic of Kiribati,
Papua New Guinea, Western Australia, Seychelles, Maldives, British
Indian Ocean Territories, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Eritrea, Turkey,
Greece, Italy, Canary Islands - Spain, and the Bahamas.
WHO IS THE OCEAN ALLIANCE?
The Ocean Alliance works for the conservation of whales and the ocean
environment through research and education.
The Ocean Alliance was founded in 1971 by Dr. Roger Payne to address a
need for a research institution that could follow persistent problems
faced by long-lived species such as whales.
Roger Payne and his colleagues have studied whales in all oceans of the
world for the past thirty-four years. Payne's work with whales first
came to the public's attention in 1967 when, along with colleague Scott
McVay, made the discovery that the long repeated vocalizations of
humpback whales were actually “songs. For his work in whale
conservation, Payne was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship, the 1994
Lyndhurst Prize, a knighthood in the Netherlands, and was named to the
United Nations Environmental Program's Global 500 Roll of Honor.
The National Geographic Society refers to him as "the Dean of modern
whale research.” He is the author of Among Whales (1995), a book that
examines whales and their environment from a personal perspective. He
has been the subject of more than forty television documentaries and in
1995, Payne co-wrote, and co-directed the IMAX production, Whales,
which featured Ocean Alliance and the R/V Odyssey.
Our current programs of the Ocean Alliance include:
• The Voyage of the Odyssey
• The Patagonia Right Whale Program, Argentina
• Roger Payne’s “Voice from the Sea”
• Ocean Encounters Education Initiative
• The Pacific Life Foundation WHALE Education Program
• The CETA Whalewatch Program in Gloucester,
Massachusetts USA
For more information about the Ocean Alliance -
www.oceanalliance.org
For more information about the Voyage of the Odyssey –
www.pbs.org/odyssey
BIOGRAPHIES-
Chris Johnson - Nationality - American
Home: Boston, MA USA & Fremantle, Western Australia
Chris is a graduate of Oberlin College with a degree in History and has
completed post-graduate work in Computer Science at Swinburne
University in Melbourne, Australia.
Chris joined the Odyssey having directed and produced multimedia
installations, websites and interactive CD-ROMS/DVDs for the National
Geographic Society, The American Museum of Natural History, Lincoln
Park Zoo, Jurong Bird Park in Singapore, Smithsonian Natural History
Museum, Melbourne Zoo and the Ocean Alliance. In addition, he is a
reputable cinematographer and photographer providing imagery for news
and documentary programs for the BBC, PBS, Reuters, National Geographic
News, RAI, Sky News-Italy, Channel Ten Australia, ABC Australia, and
the Discovery Channel.
Having designed and developed a multimedia studio on the Research
Vessel Odyssey, allows Chris to produce our award-winning website
hosted by PBS (www.pbs.org/odyssey) from sea as events happen on a
daily basis where records and captures all aspects of the expedition.
He has documented expeditions to the Sea of Cortez - Mexico, the
Pacific Ocean, Western Australia, the Indian Ocean, the Mediterranean
Sea and Atlantic Ocean.
Chris is also an accomplished field researcher knowledgeable in the
areas of bioacoustics, digital data collection & GIS.
Genevieve Johnson – Nationality: Australian
Home: Fremantle, Western Australia
Genevieve holds a Bachelor of Education in Environmental and Outdoor
Education from Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia and is
currently completing a Master of Education degree at Murdoch University
in Perth, with a specific focus in environmental education.
Genevieve created the Class from the Sea education program onboard the
Odyssey and the Ocean Encounters initiative, bringing the 'live'
experience from the Odyssey directly to the classroom. She researches
and writes about the daily experiences of the Odyssey, its crew, the
ocean and its marine inhabitants. This is broadcast via the daily logs
on this website.
The R.V. Odyssey provides Genevieve with a unique platform to teach
from, as we are able to educate students from schools in remote
locations through the Class from the Sea program. This includes
bringing school groups directly to the Odyssey as well as conducting
outreach programs within local communities.
A seasoned field researcher, Genevieve co-ordinated the expedition and
scientific data collection in the field liaising with international
researchers, government officials and local students who are invited to
the Odyssey to learn more about research techniques onboard Odyssey.
CONTACT DETAILS –
Email -
cj@earthocean.tv
chrisj@oceanalliance.org
Cell Phone (USA) – (978) 457-1499
Voicemail (Australia) +61-8-9335-9097