Living Whales in the Southern Ocean: Advances in methods for non-lethal cetacean research was a Southern Ocean Research Partnership (SORP) initiative with the auspice of the International Whaling Commission that received the sponsorship of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Chile, the Directorate of Maritime Territory and Merchant Marine of Chile, the Australian Government, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the United States, Oregon State University, the International Fund for Animal Welfare, the South Pacific Research Whale Consortium, Altavoz and Cetacean Conservation Center Chile.

Living Whales in the Southern Ocean symposium and accompanying workshops were held in Puerto Varas, Chile from 27-29th March 2012, to discuss recent advances in methods for non-lethal research on whales in the Southern Ocean. The first day (27th March) was an open Symposium with invited experts who showcased new non-lethal research methods for whales in the Southern Hemisphere. The Symposium was followed by two days of Workshops that covered specific research areas. The Workshops were each one day in duration and covered the following topics (under the direction of co-chairs):

- Health assessment of live cetaceans (Hall, Perryman);
- Advances in long term Satellite Tagging Techniques for Cetaceans (Gales, Zerbini);
- Population dynamics and environmental variability (Jackson, Leaper); and
- Estimation of diet and consumption rates from non-lethal methods (Friedlaender, Valenzuela).

The Symposium was attended by 124 registered participants from 16 countries (Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Australia, Colombia, Ecuador, France, Germany, Madagascar, Mexico, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, South Africa, UK, USA). The Symposium was also live streamed on the web, allowing an additional 1,553 simultaneous viewers.

A full report of the Living Whales in the Southern Ocean Symposium and Workshops can be found HERE.

Video (in English and Spanish) and presentation of symposium speakers can be downloaded separately: