Since the first gathering in 2011, Superpod6 (SP6) kicked off on July 19th on San Juan Island, United States. This year’s theme was The Blackfish Effect – marking the five-year-anniversary of Blackfish the documentary opening at cinemas/theatres in New York, Los Angeles and Hollywood. Hosted once again by Voice of the Orcas, the event was attended by an international group of organisations including Marine Connection, scientists, filmmakers, authors, journalists, policymakers, former trainers, naturalists, & orca advocates, it was also open to the general public – over 350 people gathered together at this event.
This year’s presentations were more ‘Ted Talk’ Style, with many impactful keynote speakers sharing information/knowledge about their respective work around the world. Presentations also discussed current events such as the issues surrounding the Southern Resident orca population including appeals to breach the lower Snake River dams, shake-ups at SeaWorld, wild and captive orca research, the Russia-China-SeaWorld connection, updates on captive orcas Morgan, Lolita and Corky. Also included were some very enthusiastic and inspiring scholar advocacy presentations, documentary/film screenings and much more. Speakers/presenters included Charles Vinick (Whale Sanctuary Project) Margaux Dodds (Marine Connection) Ingrid Visser (Orca Research Trust) Muriel Arnal (One Voice) Naomi Rose (Animal Welfare Institute ) Rachel Carbury (Empty the Tanks) and Jeff Ventre (former SeaWorld trainer and co-host of SP6).
Marine Connection’s Margaux Dodds comments “I was delighted to be invited to speak at Superpod6 on San Juan Island. Not only is the area stunningly beautiful, but it gives the opportunity to see the majestic southern resident killer whales and transients – both of which were sighted during SP6 week. Superpod gatherings are a great platform to address important issues related to the global cetacean captivity industry, strengthen networking and are an ideal opportunity for everyone who has a desire to end captivity for orcas and protect those living in the wild, to meet like-minded people to share thoughts/ideas. We very much look forward to attending Superpod7, location details have yet to be announced, however, the event is expected to run from 20-24 July 2020.”
