Fred Sharpe Ph.D. (Simon Fraser University) has been investigating the behavior of humpback whales for over a quarter century.  He specializes on the bubble-netting of Alaskan humpbacks that exhibit enduring bonds, task specialization, team hunting and communal tool use. Following the whales south to their wintering haunts in the Hawaiian Islands, Sharpe and his colleagues have been investigating historical ecology of north Polynesian cetaceans. He has been awarded the Fairfield Award for Innovative Marine Mammal Research and the Society for Marine Mammology’s Award for Excellence in Scientific Communication.  Fred (Botany B. Sci., U of Washington) is a naturalist in the classical tradition; he is co-author and illustrator of Wild Plants of the San Juan Islands, Birding in the San Juan Islands and Voyaging with the Whales. Fred currently serves as a principal investigator with the Alaska Whale Foundation, performs as a Wilderness First Responder and volunteers as a large whale disentangler with NOAA’s Alaska Stranding Network.

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