Richard Sears
(W-2), Founder of Mingan Island Cetacean Study
“When you are young and getting into college you have a suspected idea of what you may want to focus your studies on. My entire SEA experience helped me to realize that in fact science was the area I was passionate about pursuing.”
After Richard’s SEA experience and earning a degree in biology at Nasson College , he worked for the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) for several years, participating in salmon research. His passion for studying marine life led him to found the Mingan Island Cetacean Study (MICS) in 1972. MICS is a nonprofit research organization dedicated to the ecological study of marine mammals. MICS is best known for being the first organization to carry out long-term studies of the endangered blue whale (Balaenoptera Musculus).
In the fall of 1972, Richard Sears’s ordinary visit to the Boston library turned into a life-changing event. Richard found an SEA pamphlet hanging on the library bulletin board and immediately brought it to the attention to his parents. On March 19, 1972 , along with several other shipmates, Richard embarked on the second Sea Semester cruise aboard the Westward.
Captain Cory Cramer led the sail through the Caribbean , the Bahamas , Bermuda , and Miami. W-2 students were immersed in the shipboard community, learning nautical science, seamanship and oceanography (plankton tows, marine life observation). Richard was enthralled with the entire cruise, particularly the science aspect. There were often piles of sargassum weed found on the deck, due in large part to Richard’s fascination with organisms living in the weed, particularly sargassum weed fish. Dave Marsh, a scientist onboard, provided Richard with the insight and encouragement to continue his studies in science. “When you are young and getting into college, you have a suspected idea of what you may want to focus your studies on,” Richard said. “My entire SEA experience helped me to realize that in fact science was the area I was passionate about pursuing.”
In order to fund their research, Mingan Island Cetacean Study (MICS) invites the public to participate in ecological studies of marine mammals. MICS offers research sessions to the public from June to October each year in the St. Lawrence and during February/March in the sea of Cortez.
For more information on MICS and their research sessions, please visit the MICS website: www.rorqual.com.