“…. We have whale watching and we have benefitted from this tremendously, but there are a number of other benefits and opportunities and possibilities where the Blue Economy is concerned.”– Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit
Deep in the waters off Dominica lives a creature so large, so sophisticated, so mysterious, that it has fascinated humans for millennia. Now with advances in biology, engineering, artificial intelligence, and linguistics, we will embark on a journey to make real the dream of many children — to understand the language of these magnificent whales.– Dr. David Gruber, Project CETI
The Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica through the Ministry of the Blue and Green Economy, Agriculture and National Food Security and Common Earth has endorsed the implementation of the Regional Cetacean Translation Initiative (CETI) Project and will officially launch the Dominica component on Monday 19th April 2021 at 9.30am at the Jungle Bay Resort and Spa in Soufriere.
Project CETI aims to provide the opportunity to strengthen oceanic discoveries and data on Sperm Whales and their existence in our Dominican waters, a pristine and natural habitat for them. The Project also provides the Commonwealth of Dominica through its line ministries and the Climate Resilience Executing Agency of Dominica (CREAD) the opportunity to work with Common Earth and WAVE (Whale Advocacy, Education and Empowerment) for a healthier future for the ocean in which biodiversity is better protected through community-driven conservation.
The Commonwealth of Dominica also referred to as the “Nature Island”, prides itself on becoming the first climate resilient country of the world and sees this as an opportunity to merge responsible and sustainable use of our ocean’s resources while exploring a more evolved underwater world. The launch event will celebrate Dominica’s sperm whales and honor the work of all who have contributed to the welfare of the whales including the Fisheries Division and the Dominica Sperm Whale Project (DSWP). The launch will announce the newly established local Dominican entities Project CETI Dominica, Common Earth Dominica, and the Dominica WAVE.
Project CETI, a nonprofit organization and 2020 TED Audacious Project, aims to apply advanced machine learning and state-of-the-art robotics to listen to and translate the communication of whales off Dominica. Founded and led by a team of scientists, CETI is bringing together leading cryptographers, robotics, linguists, AI experts, technologists and marine scientists to connect to a fellow mammal with the largest brain: the sperm whale.
Over the next five years, CETI will listen deeply to sperm whale communication, interpret their voices, and then attempt to communicate back. Through an understanding of a non-human species and showing the power of collaborative research, CETI aims deepen our relationship with life on earth.
For more information, please click on the following link: https://www.projectceti.org
Picures from the Launch
Photo credit: Petra Shillingford Grell
