QENTOL, YEN / W̱SÁNEĆ Marine Guardians’ Southern Resident Killer Whale Marine Biologist, Shelly Kemp, is now acting as the program’s Interim Manager.

QENTOL, YEN / W̱SÁNEĆ Marine Guardians is an initiative of the W̱SÁNEĆ Leadership Council (W̱LC) that combines traditional knowledge with modern technology to protect the endangered population of KELŁOLEMEĆEN (Killer Whales) and monitor the Salish Sea, as W̱SÁNEĆ’s ancestors have done since time immemorial. The program has four prongs – habitat monitoring, compliance monitoring, baseline monitoring, and a cultural component – through which the Guardians track KELŁOLEMEĆEN, assess the availability of major food sources, and monitor adverse effects on their environment such as pollution and underwater noise.

Kemp has worked with the Marine Guardians since 2022. She has always loved the ocean. Her passion led her to study marine biology and geography at the University of Victoria and, ultimately, to earn a Master’s in the University’s Marine Protected Areas Research Group. Since then, she has worked in marine conservation in a variety of settings, including work with Gulf Islands National Park Reserve, the Shaw Centre for the Salish Sea, the University of Victoria, Peninsula Streams and Shorelines, and, of course, with the Guardians as the program’s Southern Resident Killer Whale Marine Biologist.

In her new role as Interim Manager, she will put her education and experience to use to continue developing the Guardians’ holistic approach to protecting KELŁOLEMEĆEN. W̱LC and the Guardians look forward to continuing to make strides under her guidance.

More information about new Interim Manager Shelly Kemp is available on W̱LC’s website.

To learn more about the Guardian’s work protecting KELŁOLEMEĆEN, visit the QENTOL, YEN website.

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