About Us
Ships Whales & Acoustics in Gitga’at Territory (SWAG) is an initiative of the Gitga’at Nation, North Coast Cetacean Society (BC Whales) and WWF-Canada. The SWAG initiative was conceptualized by these partners as a response to increasing levels of vessel traffic in Gitga’at Territory. The initiative was formalized in 2017 and is an ongoing effort. SWAG is undertaking work that is contributing to reducing the risk of acoustic disturbance and ship strikes to whales in Gitga’at Territory and building local and Gitga’at capacity to monitor whales and vessels and support decision making related to managing the impacts of shipping in Gitga’at Territory.
SWAG Project Team
Chris Picard
SWAG Co-Lead (Gitga'at)
Janie Wray
SWAG co-lead (NCCS)
Hussein Alidina
SWAG co-lead (WWF-Canada)
Tom Dakin
Engineering & Design
Jeff Bosma
Electrical Engineering
Dr. Ben Hendricks
Acoustic Science
Dr. Eric Keen
Visuals & Risk Assessment
Nicole Robinson
Community Outreach
Grace Baer
Fin Island Research Station Ops
Chenoah Shine
Graduate Student, Whale Surveys
Joel Mellish
Electrical Technician
