ETHICS STATEMENT
The Aquatic Research Conservancy follows the standards put forward by the Society of Marine Mammalogy. We hold ourselves to the highest possible standards and go above and beyond to ensure that research conducted is in accordance with local, state and federal laws.
We aim to practice voluntary minimally invasive observational research as set forth by the Be Whale Wise Guidelines.
At the Aquatic Research Conservancy, The animals come first.
Research on marine mammals, like that on other vertebrates, raises important issues of animal welfare and ethics, and, until recently, these issues have received insufficient holistic attention within the community of scientists who work with marine mammals (Bekoff 2002; Gales et al 2003). Scientists from many countries and cultures conduct research on marine mammals. Thus research is conducted within the context of a complex mixture of motivations, ethical values and legislative controls. While this diversity influences any global discussion of marine mammal welfare and ethics, there remain some fundamental scientific and ethical tenets that span cultural and legal relativity. Those tenets form the basis of this document. The guidelines presented here are intended to reflect internationally acceptable scientifically valid approaches to the handling and treatment of marine mammals in field research; they are supported by the Society for Marine Mammalogy (hereafter referred to as “the Society” or SMM”). As far as possible, the guidelines represent the ethical standards of the international marine mammal scientific community and define the values that characterise researchers belonging to a responsible professional society. They provide an invaluable resource for Animal Ethics Committees throughout the world.
More information on best practices for conducting research can be found here:
https://www.marinemammalscience.org/about-us/ethics/marine-mammal-treatment-guidelines/