Bermuda’s mid-ocean location offers a unique window into the pelagic lives of humpback whales. Historically, visiting scientists struggled with infrequent weather windows. Over a 40-year period, they identified only 140 individual whales. As a local resident, I can choose the best days to be on the water resulting in over 2,500 individual humpback identified in Bermuda waters. Supported by a small team of volunteers and dedicated donors, our long-term research has achieved groundbreaking milestones.

🧬 Scientific Discoveries & Data Collection

* 2,500+ Whales Catalogued: Identified and catalogued individual whales in Bermuda waters.

* Global Databases: Maintained and cross-referenced the Bermuda Humpback Whale Catalogue against North Atlantic scientific databases.

* 5,417 Hours of Acoustics: Recorded military-grade passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) data using JASCO AMARs.

* Behavioral Footage: Captured hundreds of hours of unprecedented aerial and underwater behavior footage.

🗺️ Global Conservation & Policy Impact

* Marine Mammal Sanctuary: Proved Bermuda is a principal migratory waypoint, leading to Sanctuary status in 2012.

* IUCN Recognition: Successfully advocated for Bermuda’s designation as an Important Marine Mammal Area (IMMA).

* Ocean Governance: Active member on the Science Committee of the Bermuda Ocean Prosperity Program (BOPP).

* Ecosystem Assessments: Contributed to iAtlantic research assessing open-ocean ecosystem health across the Atlantic.

*Awarded the Bermuda National Trust Bermudiana Award for Natural Heritage Impact for two decades of research and raising awareness of humpback whales in Bermuda

🎬 Documentary Films

* Where the Whales Sing (2010): Award-winning film distributed globally in multiple languages.

* The Secret Lives of the Humpbacks (2019): Award-winning look into complex social behaviors.

* If They Were Us: The Humpback Whales of the Sargasso Sea (2026): Premiered in Hawaii and Canada with sold-out Bermuda screenings.

* Educational Outreach: Distributed thousands of free educational DVDs to local schoolchildren and international audiences.

📚 Books & Publications

* Whale Song (2012): 10,000 copies printed by US and UK publishers.

* À l'écoute des Baleines (2019): Published and distributed in France.

* The Whale Whisperer: Third book currently under contract.

* Peer-Reviewed Papers: Co-authored scientific papers published in Nature Journal, Marine Mammal Science, PANGAEA, and Frontiers in Marine Science.

🎨 Exhibitions, Philately & Lectures

* BUEI Exhibit: Contributed content to a permanent humpback whale exhibition at the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute.

* Art Exhibitions: Hosted solo photographic exhibitions at the Bermuda National Gallery, Masterworks, and the ACE Gallery.

* Bermuda Stamps: Featured original black-and-white underwater photography on official Bermuda stamps.

* Global Speaking: Presented research at the Explorers Club (NYC) and international cetacean conferences across Europe, Australia, and the Americas.

Detailed documentary information:

Andrew has given scores of illustrated lectures and screenings of his documentary films at the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute (BUEI), Bermuda College, the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum and Zoo, Specialty Cinema, International Women’s Club, Rotary Club, English Speaking Union, BIOS, RBYC and many Bermuda schools. Internationally, he has screened his films and been a speaker in: Dominican Republic, Washington DC, the Explorer’s Club NYC, Wildlife Conservation Film Festival in NYC; Telluride and Monterey film festivals, in the USA; Kendal in the Lake District in England; Banff in Canada; Darwin Center Bordeaux and Paris, France; Barcelona, Spain; Perth, Australia; Ponta Delgrada, Azores; Tadoussac, Quebec; Dundee, Scotland.

-A third documentary, “If They Were Us: The Humpback Whales of the Sargasso Sea” was completed in February 2026. It premiered in Maui, Hawaii the same month, and three sold-out screenings in Bermuda in March and April 2026. This third film also screened four times at the Dome Theater in the new Discovery Center on the Halifax waterfront in June during Ocean Week and was simultaneously screened at the Dunn Theater in the Huntsman Marine Science Center in St. Andrew’s, New Brunswick.

-Several solo photographic exhibitions of underwater and aerial images of humpback whales exhibited at: the Bermuda National Gallery, Kaleidoscope, ACE Gallery, Masterworks Art Gallery, twice winner of the Sargeant’s Cup Marine Art Prize, Bermuda Society of Arts. Winner of the Audience Choice Award in the Prince of Wales Commonwealth Environmental Photography Competition.

-Identifying Bermuda as a principal migratory waypoint for the North Atlantic humpbacks and gaining international recognition for Andrew’s addition to the scientific knowledge of the species and the establishment of Bermuda as a Marine Mammal Sanctuary in 2012. Submission to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature resulted in Bermuda’s inclusion as one of the IUCN’s designated Important Marine Mammal Areas (IMMA). On the Science Committee of the Bermuda Ocean Prosperity Program (BOPP).

-Recording the social lives of the humpbacks with hundreds of hours of aerial and underwater footage documenting the complex behavior of the humpbacks never witnessed before.

-Contributing to a permanent exhibition on the humpbacks at the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute.

-Working with postgraduate students from both sides of the Atlantic to publish papers in scientific journals and presentations including five Society for Marine Mammology Conferences in: Quebec City, Halifax, Barcelona, Palm Beach, and Perth, Australia. Contributed to the General Assembly of the iAtlantic, a multidisciplinary research program seeking to assess the health of deep-sea and open-ocean ecosystems across the full span of the Atlantic Ocean in Edinburgh in 2019 and Florianopolis, Brazil in 2022 and in Edinburgh in October 2024. Gave a one-hour presentation at the Explorer’s Club, New York in October 2019. Presented at the Global Ocean Biodiversity Initiative in Vancouver February 2023 and at the Humpback Whale World Congress in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic March 2023. Participated May 2024 in Mexico at the IUCN workshop to successfully put forward the case for Bermuda to be designated an IUCN Important Marine Mammal Area in February 2025. Presented at the European Cetacean Society conference Ponta Delgada May 2025 and resented at another ECS conference in Dundee, Scotland in April 2026. Presented at the Humpback Whale World Congress in Tadoussac, Quebec in October 2025.

-Papers published in scientific journals include Nature Journal, Marine Mammal Science, PANGAEA and Frontiers in Marine Science.

-Bermuda stamps using Andrew’s underwater black and white photographs included in Bermuda philately 20th March 2025.

-An additional website www.bermudaaerialography.com with photographs and 4k video showcasing Bermuda and its ocean environment