Charlie Landa watched whales and sharks last summer as an SNRE student...what did you do?
Aug. 31, 2018
Charlie Landa, a Natural Resources major, spent his summer as a Marine Mammal Research and Education intern in Boston, Massachusetts. For the research portion of the internship, he assisted with field data collection on marine mammals in the Stellwagen Bank Region, working alongside the ship's naturalist. From observation to data entry and photo identification submission, Charlie participated in the research process. He engaged passengers in environmental interpretation on the way in and out of the harbor. All was not glamorous as he helped with minor cleaning of the equipment and vessel, tasks also important to the long-term viability of the work. "The best thing about my internship" recalled Landa "was that every trip was a different experience. For example, one day I see six humpback whales then the next trip I see three minke whales, five humpback whales, and later in the day spot a great white shark" For more on that day visit Tucson.com. Other species that Charlie saw included Atlantic white-sided dolphins, gray seals, harbor seals, sei whales, finback whales, blue sharks, and lion's mane jellyfish. "The most important thing that I have learned so far is that you never expect the same sightings from the previous trip and always have to be prepared for anything." Join SNRE and you too can be prepared for anything!