Stephanie Fernandez

Steph, born and raised in Mexico City, has been in or on the ocean since 1981 dedicating her life to studying and teaching about marine mammals and the marine environment. She has a Master's degree in Marine Biology from ITESM-Guaymas, Mexico. While attending Texas A&M University at Galveston, she became regional coordinator for the Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network. The program recovers hundreds of dead bottlenose dolphins to collect morphological data, teeth, skeletons and tissues for analysis. Other research has involved cutting and processing cetacean teeth for age estimation (including the highly endangered vaquita or Gulf of California harbor porpoise) at the Smithsonian's Marine Mammal Research Program, and documenting distribution and abundance of marine mammals during research cruises in the Sea of Cortez and Queen Charlotte Sound.

Steph has spent the last six seasons in Maui working as a naturalist on whale watching boats. Her own humpback whale research entails photographing, identifying and matching these whales in Hawaii and Alaska. In following these whales, Steph will be spending her fourth summer in Alaska. The vastness, solitude, and wildlife in Alaska have captivated her.

Travels in search of marine mammals have taken her to Barrow (AK), Australia, New Zealand and Chile. She has a US Captain's license and is a certified diver. Her hobbies include snorkeling, cycling, hiking, bird watching and photography.