ACONS WEBINAR
Exploring Marine & Cultural Connections: Nantucket Sound & the Azores
Thursday, August 14 at 6pm
Click here to register for free; hosted on Zoom.
Join us for our ACONS (A Celebration of Nantucket Sound) webinar with guest speaker Robert Rocha, of the New Bedford Whaling Museum, in New Bedford, MA. Southeastern Massachusetts and the Azores share deep historical and cultural ties, as well as many of the same marine species due to their similar latitude and longitude. Observations recorded in whaling logbooks by captains and first mates provide valuable insight into these connections. This program will explore primary source data from these logbooks to reveal what whalers saw as they sailed from New Bedford, through Nantucket Sound, past Nantucket, and eastward to the Azores. Many of the marine animals documented on these voyages—including whales, dolphins, and fish—would have also been seen in Nantucket Sound, highlighting the region’s rich biodiversity and ecological link to the Azores.
Robert Rocha is the Associate Curator of Science and Research at the New Bedford Whaling Museum, where he has worked since 2004. His major responsibilities include developing all science content for museum exhibits, cataloging and managing the natural history collection, and serving as liaison to several agencies and partners. In his time at the Museum, he has also been responsible for developing and presenting science curriculum for school groups, creating and managing the High School Apprenticeship Program, managing and training the Museum’s volunteer corps, developing outreach programs, developing science programs for general audiences, and providing professional development for teachers.
He is Executive Director of Massachusetts Marine Educators (MME), past President of National Marine
Educators Association (NMEA), Chair of the Education Committee of the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium, and serves on the Advisory Committee for New Bedford Science Café.
Bob received his Bachelor of Science in Biology from Southeastern Massachusetts University and his Master of Science in Environmental Studies from Antioch University New England. He co-authored Emptying the Oceans: A Summary of Industrial Whaling in the 20th Century, published by NOAA’s Office of Publications, and has written several articles for the Whaling Museum’s Bulletin from Johnny Cake Hill, for MME’s Flotsam and Jetsam newsletter, for NMEA’s newsletter, the Whaling Museum’s blog, and Vistas: A Journal of Art, History, Science and Culture.
A live Q&A with Robert and Alliance president Audra Parker will follow the presentation.
