Program


Acoustics

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Genetics

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Conservation

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Migrations

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Innovations & new knowledge (AI, satellites)

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Behavior

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Sustainable economy

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Citizen Science

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Health assessment & long term monitoring

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Acoustics 〰️ Genetics 〰️ Conservation 〰️ Migrations 〰️ Innovations & new knowledge (AI, satellites) 〰️ Behavior 〰️ Sustainable economy 〰️ Citizen Science 〰️ Health assessment & long term monitoring 〰️

Thematic Sessions

The Humpback Whale World Congress 2025 will bring together experts, enthusiasts, innovators, and decision-makers around key themes aimed at better understanding, protecting, and sustainably coexisting with these giants of the ocean.
Throughout a series of engaging and diverse sessions, we will explore:
 Whether you are a researcher, student, artist, manager, fisher, or simply an ocean lover, these themes are an open invitation to collectively shape an ambitious, informed future for humpback whales and marine environments.
Join us in Tadoussac for a unique gathering of knowledge, collaboration, and commitment.
    • Pierre Cauchy: Acoustic footprint of traffic noise in the St. Lawrence Seaway -Quantification, modeling and mitigation solutions assessed through the MARS observatory

    • Marion Poupard: Classification of North Atlantic humpback whale vocal units using passive acoustic monitoring and machine learning

    • Jérôme Couvat: Using a glider to investigate humpback whale acoustic presence in remote areas of Martinique

    • Yann Doh: Description of non-linear phenomena in humpback whale songs and research perspectives

    • Jodi Frediani: When whales seek us out - humpback whales blow “smoke” bubble rings

    • Maria Isabel Gonçalves: Surface behaviors of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in a Brazilian breeding ground

    • Steve Ferguson: Quantifying surfacing behavior in Arctic and North Atlantic whales using satellite telemetry

    • Andrew Stevenson: Birthing scars on female humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in the North Atlantic

    • Isabela Oliveira: Of whales and people: shaping a generation of scientists, whale watchers and other stakeholders through the humpback whale project in Brazil

    • Serge Briez: Observations collected by citizen

    • Marie Lou Bontemps: Mitigating ship strikes on large whales in French Polynesia: a multi-stakeholder approach for risk reduction and long-term management

    • Chloe Robinson: The whale report alert system: a real-time solution for preventing ship strikes

    • Zachary Hoffman: Assessing the role of water column depth and body size in humpback whale vessel strike risk through surfacing

    • Chelsi Napoli: Modelling spatiotemporal trends of humpback whale mortality due to vessel strike by cargo ships on the United States East coast

    • Anastasia Kunz: Protecting blue whales and blue skies in California

    • Jackie Hildering: See a blow? Go slow! lessons learned for whale and boater safety

    • Lyne Morissette: Humpback whales as vectors of empathy: evidence-based insights for strengthening marine conservation

    • Manon Riou: Coexisting with giants: how a right whale crisis opened the door to humpback research

    • Alexandra Mayette: A quantitative approach to assess risks from human activity and better inform strategies to co-exist with whales

    • Sheryl Kink : Co-existence, not conflict: An example from the Gulf of St. Lawrence snow crab fishery of how NGOs can help promote coexistence between fisheries and whales

    • Christina Perazio: For the love of whales: A journey from science to education

    • Maria-Vittoria Carminati: Genomic insights into whale conservation: assembly and annotation of the humpback whale genome

    • Katharine Hart: Spatial distribution, abundance, and occurrence patterns of humpback whales on the Turks Bank, Turks and Caicos Island

    • Sheila Thornton: Evaluation of relatedness of humpback whales foraging in Northeast Pacific waters: a whole genome approach

    • Michaela Alksne: An integrated species distribution model for humpback whales in the California current ecosystem

    • Marianne McNamara: Ongoing and anomalous changes in the Eastern New York Bight (USA): Comparing the dramatic increase in humpback whale number and residency time during 2024 to the fifteen years prior with an update from 2025

    • Charlotte Esposito: Monitoring humpback whales in the Polynesian sanctuary: a long-term photo-identification program

    • Tanya Lubansky: Long-term photo-identification dataset of opportunistic sightings reveals shifting habitat preferences of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in the Gulf of Maine

    • Dalia C. Barragan-Barrera: Assessing humpback whale site fidelity in a multi-use marine landscape: a photo-id study from Bahia Solano, Colombian Pacific

    • Maria Isabel Gonçalves: Feeding grounds’ environmental conditions affect interannual fluctuations and reproductive success of humpback whales in a breeding ground off Brazil

    • Valentina Melica: Stable isotope analyses reveal individual and regional variability in Humpback Whale diet and ecological niche in Northeast Pacific waters

    • Felicia Vachon: Know your neighbours: fine-scale site fidelity of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) within their British Columbia feeding grounds

    • Timothee Perrero: Visitor to Residents: The Head of the Laurentian Channel in the Saint Lawrence Estuary (SLE) as a new feeding site for Humpback whales?

    • Lucas Bernier: Sounds of the Caribbean Sea : Documenting Humpback Whale Migration through a Collaborative, large scale inter-Island Monitoring in the wider Caribbean

    • Louise Simon: High-Density Breeding Hotspots for North Atlantic Humpback Whales: A 2025 Update from Samaná Bay and Navidad Bank

    • Ann Carole Vallejo: Distribution and Occurrence of Humpback Whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) Across Four Austral Summers, in the Ross Sea, Antarctica

    • Jo Marie Acebes: Humpback whales in the Babuyan marine corridor, Philippines: significant yet unprotected

    • Charline Fisseau : Whale-watching as a vector of coexistence: socio-economic challenges and sustainable perspectives in Reunion Island

    • Paul Camerin : Impacts of whale tourism activities on the behaviour of humpback
      whale mother-calf pairs of Reunion Island.

    • Schédir Marchesseau: Implementation of an experimental protocol for the collection of blow samples as part of a project to assess the state of health of Malagasy humpback whales

    • Cathy Bacon: Migratory destinations of humpback whales off the Turks and Caicos Islands

    • Katharine Hart: Annual return and reproductive rates of humpback whales on the Turks bank, Turks and Caicos Islands

    • Beverley Ecalle: Cetacean chronicles: new insights into behaviour, communication and conservation via Cetoscope

    • Charline Fisseau: Revitalization of the sustainable whale and dolphin watching tourism network (SWWN) of the Indian Ocean rim association by the CEDTM: actions and perspectives

    • Maria-Vittoria Carminati: The blueprint of a giant: gene duplication and evolutionary adaptation in the first humpback whale reference genome

    • Laura Lyall: Assessing the importance of Ísafjarðardjúp, Iceland for foraging humpback whales

    • Marina Leite Marques: Humpback whale reoccupation, distribution and conservation challenges in the busy breeding area surrounding Ilhabela Archipelago, Southeast Brazil

    • Mathieu Marzeliere: Connecting the dots Citizen science for conservation

    • Delphine Demaisy: Rising Humpback Whale Presence on the Murman Coast (Northwestern Russia) in the Barents Sea: A Report on New Sightings and Conservation Implications for the Region

    • Grisel Rodriguez: Stranding of a gravid humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae): Insights on an atypical stranding

Congress activities

Whale Watching

Since the congress will take place in Tadoussac — one of the best places in the world to observe whales — a whale-watching boat tour will be offered (available as an option when registering).
You’ll also have the chance to observe whales from land every morning, thanks to the incredible location where the Saguenay Fjord meets the St. Lawrence River.

Workshops

Workshops on various topics will be open to everyone for a fee, except for those already registered for the congress. A dedicated registration tab will be available soon for those who wish to attend workshops only. It is also possible to sponsor a workshop on a specific topic — if you're interested, please contact us!
Movie projection,  Live performance in danse and music

Arts & Science events

Humpback Whale World Congress 2025 — Preliminary Calendar
Humpback Whale World Congress Tadoussac & Quebec • 15 – 19 Oct 2025

Preliminary Calendar

All sessions, presentations and social events at a glance.

Wednesday October 15
10:50 – 12:00
Opening session
Chateau Frontenac, Quebec
12:00 – 13:30
Lunch
At Salon Montmagny
13:30 – 17:00
Departure in Chatered bus
Quebec → Tadoussac
17:00 – 18:00
Arrival in Tadoussac & Check-In
18:00 – 19:30
Event #1 — Icebreaker evening
Hotel Tadoussac
Thursday October 16
08:00 – 08:25
Opening session
08:30 – 09:15
Invited Speaker #1 — Robert Michaud (GREMM)
How many SLE belugas is NA humpback whale worth? Does status matter ?
09:20 – 09:50
Oral session #1 — Whale watching
Chair: Lyne Morissette
09:50 – 10:10
Coffee break
Poster room
10:10 – 11:40
Oral session #2 — Conservation
Chair: Nadège Gandilhon
11:40 – 12:02
Poster session
12:02 – 13:30
Lunch
13:30 – 14:15
Invited Speaker #2 — Erich Hoyt, Whale and Dolphin Conservation
Important Marine Mammal Areas (IMMAs): Engaging communities & giving marine mammals a seat at the negotiating table
14:20 – 14:50
Oral session #3 — Citizen Science
Chair: Cristiane Albuquerque
14:50 – 15:10
Coffee break
Poster room
15:10 – 16:10
Oral session #4 — Acoustics
Chair: Olivier Adam
16:10 – 17:10
Oral session #5 — Migration
Chair: Erich Hoyt
17:10 – 17:40
Oral session #6 — Behavior
Chair: Robert Michaud
20:00 – 22:00
Event #2 — Film screening
Location : Centre Communautaire de Tadoussac
Film : Ocean Seen From the Heart — I. Cadrin‑Rossignol & M‑D Michaud
Pre-screen of the teaser The Humpback Whales of the Sargasso Sea, director Andrew Stevenson
Friday 17 October
08:00 – 08:45
Tribute
Tribute to Roger Payne & Oswaldo Vasquez — by Phil Clapham
09:00 – 10:20
Workshops sessions #1
Topics: Ports in action : Initiatives for sustainable coexistence with marine mammals • Chairpersons: Nadège Gandilhon, director NG Expertises & Recherches & Véronique Trudeau, director at Green Marine
Workshops sessions #2
Topics: Development for sustainable fisheries • Chairpersons: Lyne Morissette, director M-Expertise Marine & Éloise Lemaire, project manager at Merivov
10:20 – 10:40
Coffee break
Poster area
10:40 – 11:50
Workshops (continued)
12:00 – 13:30
Lunch
13:30 – 14:15
Invited Speaker #3 — Phil Clapham, NOAA's National Marine Mammal Laboratory
The Resilient Whale : The past, Present and Future of Megaptera novaeangliae
14:20 – 15:00
Workshop session #3
Topics: New technologies for cetacean observations based on eDNA robots, visual observations, passive acoustics and AI • Chairpersons: Jean‑Luc Jung, professor at the French Museum of Natural History & Olivier Adam, professor at Sorbonne University
Workshop session #4
Topics: Connecting to protect better : MPAs, cooperation and action networks for sustainable coexistence • Chairpersons: Valérie Collin, vice-president de Cétamada & Jérôme Couvat, scientific coordinator at the French Agoa Sanctuary
15:00 – 15:20
Coffee break
Poster room
15:20 – 16:50
Workshops (continued)
17:00 – 17:40
Workshops restitution
20:00 – 22:00
Event #3 — Visit of the Marine Mammal Interpretation Center
Marine Mammal Interpretation Centre
Saturday 18 October
08:00 – 09:15
Invited Speaker #4 — Ted Cheeseman (Happywhale)
Humpack whales are locals, but not locals only - new science shows a few wanderers and many highly site-faithful whales
09:20 – 10:20
Oral session #7 — Distribution
Chair : Phil Clapham
10:20 – 10:40
Coffee break
Poster room
10:40 – 12:10
Oral session #8 — Collision
Chair: Lyne Morissette
12:10 – 13:30
Lunch
13:30 – 14:15
Invited Speaker #4 — Joy Reidenberg (Icahn School of Medicin at Mount Sinai's Center for Anatomy and Functional Morphology
Anatomy of humpback whale sound production and transmission
14:20 – 15:05
Oral session #9 —Feeding
Chair : Jean-Luc Jung
15:05 – 15:25
Coffee break
Poster room
15:25 – 15:55
Oral session #10 —Behavior
Chair : Joy Reidenberg
15:55 – 16:55
Oral session #11 —Distribution
Chair : Ted Cheeseman
17:00 – 17:30
Closing Session
20:00 – 00:00
Event #4 - Gala Night
Sunday 19 October
10:15 – 12:45
Event #5 - Whale-Watching
Visit of the terrestrial observation sites in Sainte-Marguerite Bay or Cape of Bon-Désir (Possible to do a short walk next to the hotel : Pointe de l’Islet
13:00 – 14:00
Lunch
13:00 – 17:30
Departure in chartered bus #1
Tadoussac → Quebec
1st stop - Quebec Airport | 2nd stop - Central Quebec (TBD)
Monday October 20
13:30 – 17:00
Departure in chartered bus #2
Tadoussac → Quebec
1st stop - Quebec Airport | 2nd stop - Central Quebec (TBD)