Sperm whale subject of study

PASCAGOULA, Miss. - Minerals Management Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration biologists leave next week for the last of three missions in the northern Gulf of Mexico to study the sperm whale. They'll leave Monday from Singing River Island aboard the NOAA ship Pisces. Little is known about the food source for the largest mammal in the Gulf of Mexico. The Sperm Whale Acoustic Prey Study is being conducted on the 208-foot-long Pisces, built by VT Halter Marine in Moss Point. (Source: Mississippi Press, 03/06/10)

Fisheries conservationist of year named

OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss. - University of Southern Mississippi fisheries biologist Read Hendon received the 2009 Mississippi Wildlife Federation Fisheries Conservationist of the Year award for his stewardship of the state's marine fisheries resources at a Feb. 27 awards banquet in Jackson, Miss. Hendon, assistant director of the Center for Fisheries Research and Development at Gulf Coast Research Laboratory in Ocean Springs, was recognized as a key member of the "emerging generation" of Mississippi fisheries researchers, educators and managers. GCRL focuses on research on coastal and marine resources, development of new marine technologies and the education of future scientists and citizens. (Source: University of Southern Mississippi, 03/03/10)

Director of Marine Mammals Studies named

GULFPORT, Miss. - Dr. Sharon Walker, who headed the J.L. Scott Marine Education Center and Aquarium in Biloxi until it was destroyed by Katrina in 2005, on April 1 becomes director of education and outreach programs at the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies in Gulfport. Walker will help in the institute’s transformation into a family attraction that merges the entertainment value of Marine Life, a Katrina casualty, and educational programs of the J. L. Scott. (Source: Sun Herald, 03/02/10)