Jon as Jonah, in and on a whale

It has been a far too short 20 years since I first had the privilege of a call from Jon that led to a trip to Newfoundland and a very different twist to my life than I could ever anticipate. Jon asked me to come to “take a look at a few whales”. That tiny phrase led me to the opportunity to see something of Newfoundland, to meet him and Judy, to work with his crew of students and volunteers, and to experience some of the richest moments of my research career.

It was August, bright, clear, black flies the size of small birds, and somehow still cold if you stood too still for too long. Does it get any better than that? There were whale bodies waiting in several spots. Some may or may not have been impacted by blasting work. He did not inform me which were the suspect cases. This was one of Jon’s hallmarks: those “few whales” were a superbly crafted exercise in how to do an examination and get at the truth. Who else could or would line up not only the whales of concern but some controls! A whale of an exercise, indeed. We spent days examining the whales, gallivanting about the coast, and in one most unexpected and rewarding experience, I was fortunate to be allowed to go along on a rescue. What a joy, to take part in freeing an entangled whale, sitting fascinated as Jon brought the Zodiac ever closer to the leviathan, talking quietly and assuredly about the necessity to make eye contact and thus to communicate as best we could. No surprises; it worked. The whale calmed, and Jon set to work nonchalantly parked on the back of humpback that was about to be set free. It may be difficult to believe, but I thoroughly enjoyed every moment, even when that whale sneezed, and I was downwind.

I also learned in those few days about a second facet to Jon, which was that this tough field guy had a mental agility, dignity, and grace that made him a fine and respected negotiator, for Jon worked, with the same assurance and firmness as he had on the whales, to communicate with the construction companies and government about our findings on the whales that were impacted by the blasting. You see, we did have reliable and significant findings. Because Jon had carefully arranged for the work to be done without foreknowledge, eliminating the chance for question of bias in the findings, it was a powerful set of answers. The company involved respected that, and it made a difference. The blasting effort was altered and no more bodies came ashore. In short order, Jon applied those same skills to find a way to help the fisherfolk he so admired to retool for a life that would help restore the fishing stocks that were rapidly disappearing. That was a phenomenal challenge, and is now considered in marine mammal science to be an exemplar of how to bring together fisheries and conservation interests so that all may benefit. That is what I learned from Jon that I cherish most and which I am sure we all know to be a very important truth: in this wonderful terrible place of Newfoundland and, indeed, in many far distant ones, Jon absolutely made a difference, more than once, and to a great many people. He made eye contact with a lot of us, and it changed for the better all who had the luck to be thus touched.

This post was submitted by Darlene Ketten.