Voyage of the Odyssey executive summary - Ocean Alliance

Voyage of the Odyssey – A Description
The first Voyage of the Odyssey was a five-and-a-half-year scientific circumnavigation of the globe to document
the health of the world’s oceans and to provide data for efforts by ourselves and others to reduce the flow of
contaminants into the world’s oceans.
Despite mounting evidence that pollution is threatening the oceans, no global scientific expedition had been
undertaken before the Voyage of the Odyssey to document the full nature and extent of this invisible threat.
(This is perhaps for good reason – it is a daunting task.) But Ocean Alliance decided pollution was a problem
of such importance that continuing to ignore it was a greater folly than trying to do something about it, even though
doing so exposed us to major risks.
The decision to go forward paid off, and this quest on a Homeric scale succeeded. The Voyage of the Odyssey is the first
worldwide study of chemical contaminants in a single ocean species (in this case, the sperm whale), carried out with
consistent data-collecting protocols. Because sperm whales are long-lived apex predators, their tissues record the chronic
impact of pollutants within them. The 955 pencil-eraser-sized tissue samples that we collected from sperm whales during
the five and a half years of the Voyage provide both a record of contaminants and a resource for detecting their life-altering
effects.
Voyage of the Odyssey Goals
The primary goals of this pioneering Voyage were to:
l establish an archive of samples from whales from the major ocean basins of the world;
l measure contaminant burdens in these samples, especially for metals, persistent organohalogens and flame retardants,
and to establish a baseline against which future studies can be compared to determine changes in the levels of these and
other pollutant levels in the oceans;
l generate data on critical biomarkers of contaminant exposure, specifically, cytochrome P450 1A1;
l compare and contrast data from the above goals with the existing database on contaminants and their effects on
vertebrates around the globe.
The Voyage of the Odyssey team also worked with partners around the world
to pursue several related goals, including:
l to increase awareness through innovative education programs about the
threats from chemical contamination, illegal fishing and over exploited
fisheries, interference from ships and sonar, and other abuses;
l to promote the conservation and sustainable management of critical marine
habitat by holding workshops in local communities; and
l to build a foundation for future long-term global research by forming
research relationships with scientists in other countries.
The Voyage spanned a remarkable 87,000 nautical miles (139,000 km), and
– Iain Kerr, CEO
visited 121 ports in 22 countries. While much of the Odyssey crew’s time was spent
at sea collecting tissue biopsies for toxicological analysis, the Ocean Alliance team seized opportunities to collect specimens
and data for studies on genetics, acoustic behavior, photo identification of individual whales, stable isotopes (to determine
where sperm whales – particularly adult males – are feeding), and evaluation of habitat. When on land, the Ocean Alliance
team partnered with local educators, scientists and government officials to help advance conservation efforts in local
marine habitats and to share education materials.
The success of the Voyage of the Odyssey can be attributed to the many dedicated crew members who poured their
sweat, energy, tears, and intellect into this mission. Several spent over six months on the Odyssey. The full report gives
information about them and about the leaders of the expedition, scientists, educators and researchers who, along with 190
additional crew members, observers, scientists, and interns contributed boundless energy and knowledge to the effort.
Countless more individuals and organizations in the places we visited welcomed us to their home countries. We, as well
as the world, owe them our greatest thanks.
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The offshore component of the
Voyage of the Odyssey was not
only successful but in many cases
exceeded our expectations
principally as a result of the efforts
and dedication of four remarkable
people: Bob Wallace, Genevieve
Johnson, Chris Johnson, and the
late Rebecca Clark. The Ocean
Alliance and the ocean’s wildlife
live in their debt.