The Crew
Each cruise benefits from experienced well trained and friendly personnel with Marine Emergency Duty and First Aid Certificates. The cruises are piloted by professional, licensed captains, including Harold Graham who has over 50 years experience navigating the Bay of Fundy and 30 years experience working with the whales. Professional guides and researchers make each cruise informative and educational.
The
cruises are fully narrated by experienced naturalists including Shelley Lonergan who has over 25 years experience researching whales. Also employed are a marine biologist and local naturalists. We also welcome volunteers from around the globe.
Scroll down to meet the crew members. Click their name bars to read about them.
Captain Harold Graham
Harold, founder and president of Brier Island Whale and Seabird Cruises, was born and raised on Brier Island. Having lived by the Bay of Fundy he pursued a career in the fishing industry and has over 50 years experience navigating the Bay of Fundy. He also has over 30 years experience working with the whales. He and other researchers from the Eastern seaboard of the USA realized the importance of the Bay of Fundy to the Gulf of Maine cetaceans and began to monitor their presence here in 1984. Because of public interest in the work that they were doing, Harold decided to start the first whale watch company in southwest Nova Scotia. Brier Island Whale and Seabird Cruises was formed in 1986 and commenced providing a means to see the whales. The whale watch also provides the funding needed to continue with the ongoing research which is such an important part of Brier Island Cruises.
In 1987, Harold was awarded a Certificate of Merit at the Nova Scotia Environment awards in appreciation of outstanding service in the protection of the environment.
Harold is well qualified and holds all necessary certificates through Transport Canada to ensure your safety on the Bay of Fundy. He is also very knowledgeable of the marine life. When not whale watching, he is still on board the boat, the Mega Nova, as Captain while lobster fishing during the winter months.
Captain Jamie Swift
Jamie has been whale watching on the Bay of Fundy for over ten years and has been a Captain with Brier Island Whale and Seabird Cruises since 2007. Jamie is well acquainted with the Bay of Fundy and its inhabitants, having fished in the scallop and lobster industry for over 30 years. Jamie can be found on our Zodiac™ during the whale watching season. He thoroughly enjoys being out on the Bay with the whales and will share his expertise with you.
Jamie is well qualified and holds all necessary certificates through Transport Canada to ensure your safety on the Bay of Fundy.
Captain Roy Small
Shelley Lonergan - Chief Naturalist
Whales have always been Shelley’s passion since she was a little girl. It was this passion as well as her photography background that led her to the Bay of Fundy for her first whale watch. From the moment she saw her first fin whale on July 7, 1990, she was hooked! She became a volunteer with Brier Island Whale and Seabird Cruises, which led to a full time position in 1993. In 1996, she was promoted to Chief Naturalist and Research Coordinator.
The research is what makes her job exciting. Knowing the humpback whales through photo identification is her specialty and she will share that information with you. She states, “Every spring we wait for the first humpback, and like my colleague Rosie says, it’s like waiting for the first robin of spring. I can’t imagine doing anything but this. It continues to be a passion and I foresee that it always will be!”
Cindy Garron - Naturalist
Alison Conley - Naturalist
Throughout the course of her degree various employment and volunteer opportunities led her to work with phytoplankton, ocean profiling, sea floor video analysis, aspects of aquaculture, and marine mammal study. In 2012 she earned her Bachelor of Science degree majoring in combined marine biology and oceanography. With a passion for everything from plankton to whales she will happily discuss any and all marine life as well as various oceanic processes.
Tania Campbell- Naturalist
Captain Trevor Moore
Rebecca Moore - Naturalist
Katie Korol - Naturalist
Katie is originally from Langley, B.C and has always had a deep fascination with the ocean and all of its inhabitants. This led her across the country to check out the opposite coast and to pursue a Bachelor of Science degree in marine biology with Dalhousie University.
She is thrilled to be working with Brier Island Whale and Seabird Cruises and is more than happy to share her knowledge and passion!
Emily Martens-Oberwelland - Naturalist
Emily Martens-Oberwelland is a marine biology student at Dalhousie University. She has had a love for whales since a very young age – though she grew up on a farm in rural Ontario, thousands of kilometers from any ocean. She will gladly talk about her passion with you and answer any of your questions!