EWC Environmental Series "Secrets of the Harbor Porpoise"

The Edmonds Waterfront Center is honored to welcome Dr. Cindy R. Elliser—marine mammalogist, Associate Director of the Salish Sea Institute at Western Washington University, and Founder & Research Director of Pacific Mammal Research (PacMam)—as the featured speaker in Annie Crawley’s Environmental Speaker Series. The event takes place Thursday, October 9, 2025, with doors opening at 6:00 PM and the presentation beginning at 6:30 PM.

Dr. Elliser has spent more than a decade unlocking the mysteries of the harbor porpoise, the second smallest cetacean in the world, reaching just 5–5.5 feet in length and weighing about 150 pounds. Despite being one of the most abundant marine mammals in the Salish Sea, harbor porpoises are often overlooked because of their shy nature and fleeting surfacings. Through groundbreaking long-term research in Burrows Pass, off Fidalgo Island, PacMam has changed that story—showing that these animals and their calves regularly return to the same waters year after year, some for over a decade.

Her team’s photo-identification program has documented individual porpoises with remarkable site fidelity, revealing patterns of habitat use, social interactions, and family ties. Their work has also uncovered surprising behaviors: while typically shy around boats, harbor porpoises will occasionally wake ride, and although usually seen in pairs or trios, they sometimes gather in aggregations of 200 or more. PacMam has described their acrobatic aerial mating behaviors, studied their salmon-hunting foraging techniques, and, through new drone video work, captured underwater scenes of porpoises socializing, feeding, and navigating life beneath the surface.

By combining local fieldwork with collaborations around the world, Dr. Elliser and PacMam are helping to build a richer understanding of harbor porpoises as a species and their vital role in the Salish Sea. Her talk will bring guests face-to-face with these “porpoise neighbors” through photos, videos, and stories collected over more than ten years of research.

About Annie Crawley:An award-winning filmmaker, underwater photographer, author, and speaker, Annie Crawley—known as Ocean Annie—connects people to nature through visual storytelling, education, and ocean advocacy. A member of the Women Divers Hall of Fame and columnist for Scuba Diving Magazine, she leads the Our Ocean and You campaign and focuses on sustainability, ocean health, and environmental stewardship while inspiring all with her multi-media. Learn more at www.AnnieCrawley.com.

Subtitles and Closed Captioning will be provided for our guests who are deaf and hard of hearing. The EWC also offers Assistive Listening devices available to check out or connect with your smart phone.

Reserve your seat online ~ walk-ins are welcome the night of the event based on available seating.

ONLINE TICKET SALES END AT 4pm ON THURSDAY, OCTOBER 9

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