Jake Parker: My view on Living Ocean’s Research
My name is Jake Parker. I am a photographer and videographer from Cameras for Conservation and as well as being a photographer on the Living Ocean Whale Research team.
Being a member of this team is truly an honour.
After spending the past two summers as a camera operator with the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society defending whales and toothfish from poachers in the Southern Ocean, I find myself once again defending the whales; this time not from harpoons but from what many people like to call progress.
As the hand of society reaches further beyond and deeper below some of the most basic and valuable things on this planet are truly being ignored. In this movement of “progress” many beings are suffering and whales are just one of those beings. As many have said before we seem to have forgotten that we are a part of nature, not separate from it, the oceans and the forests, the lungs of the planet are being destroyed by this “progress.” The value of the research that Living Ocean is doing is immense. For example, by mapping the routes the whales take during their migration, we will seek to stop any industry from attempting to introduce activities that will threaten the whales as they make this grueling journey.
Photographing these whales onboard the Living Ocean research vessel as they migrate north, I like to think is a way to not only show everyone how amazing they are but also to get the word out that the harpoons are not the only danger that humans pose to these beautiful beings.
