Interview speakers Duikvaker 2025

Ocean Expert Nathalie Houtman

Casper Douma
Casper Douma

An encounter with two blue whales in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean turned Nathalie Houtman's life completely upside down. From that moment on she knew for sure; I want to dedicate my life to protecting whales and other marine life. She now works at the World Wildlife Fund as an ocean expert.

Was there a defining moment when you realized I wanted to work to protect whales and other marine animals?

Yes, when I saw not one, but two blue whales for the first time in my life from the bow of a whale watch ship in the Azores. Seeing and experiencing the largest species that ever lived looked so powerful and yet so vulnerable. I wondered what they had already experienced on their long journey. It was magical that our lives crossed there in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. I was studying forestry and nature conservation at the time, but from that moment on I knew for sure that I wanted to dedicate my life to protecting whales and other marine life.

Did you immediately start working as an Ocean Expert at the World Wildlife Fund after this magical encounter?

No, first I wanted to gain more experience and I went to work for a season with a whale watching company, CW Azores. The Azores are unique and breathtakingly beautiful, with a temperate climate and rugged landscapes above and below the water, shaped by volcanoes, nutrient-rich cold and warm ocean currents and people. There are few places in the world where you can find such a diversity of large marine animals. After about three months I had seen 13 species of cetaceans. Every day was different, surprising and a great adventure. Although I had a fantastic and unforgettable time as a guide, I wanted to do more. Make a tangible difference for whales and the oceans. I decided to study Marine Mammal Science in St Andrews, Scotland. During that year I learned a lot about marine mammals, research and conservation. The highlight of that time was an expedition to the Antarctic Peninsula where we collected data as a group of students by counting marine animals. To this day, I am grateful for the opportunity to travel to one of the most remote and impressive areas and become an ambassador for the polar regions, as most baleen whales, such as the blue whale, depend on these food-rich areas that are now rapidly changing due to climate change and other human impacts.

stcb green nathalie
stcb green nathalie

You eventually ended up at WWF. What is central to your work as an ocean expert?

Oceans connect us all. That is why my work focuses on reducing human impact on cetaceans and other marine animals on an international scale. My work is super diverse from managing contracts, to spokesperson, co-writing funding applications and advising on content. Together with passionate and skilled colleagues and experts worldwide, we join forces and connect local actions with regional cooperation and international agreements.

What is it Protecting Whales and Dolphins initiative? What does it entail? 

It is a conservation programme initiated by WWF for global and regional cooperation of WWF colleagues, (research) partners and other experts from all over the world to enable effective whale conservation. 

How can we make whale routes and habitats safer worldwide? 

Whales can recover in numbers if we give them space to move safely between their feeding and breeding grounds. In northern Norway I saw a mother humpback whale with her calf. It moved me because this mother brought her calf safely across the ocean and the calf would learn to become independent there. This is increasingly less self-evident. That is why with Protecting Blue Corridors we map whale routes and important habitats, together with the accumulation of human obstacles they encounter such as shipping, fishing and energy development, coupled with solutions that are available to governments, companies and individuals.

Can you name a successful action? 

Action is indeed vital. As WWF, we cannot take all the protection measures that are needed. This can only be done through cooperation. For example, governments have the mandate to declare a protected area. The Protecting Blue Corridors report has been received with great enthusiasm worldwide and we are already seeing the first tangible actions. Such as slower sailing of ships in Chile, avoiding sperm whale habitat by ships in Greece, declaring protected areas in sub-Antarctica and setting up partnerships in the Pacific Ocean, for example. With these types of reports, we want to give governments, companies and people the knowledge and solutions to make and comply with agreements, such as protecting at least thirty percent of the oceans by 2030. This is a minimum requirement to get and keep the oceans healthy.

Nathalie Climate March
Nathalie Climate March

Do you mainly work from the office these days?

Yes, that's right, most of my work is done from the laptop, but every now and then I'm needed in the field. Last summer was extra special because I advised and supported the Dutch Caribbean program of WWF-NL in our goals to make coastal areas more resilient together and to better protect whales and sea turtles in the region. For example, together with experts I proposed important habitats for whales in the region and participated in a whale expedition with the Caribbean Cetacean Society around Aruba, contributed to influencing government policy and much more.

You worked together with your partner organization Sea Turtle Conservation Bonaire? 

Sea Turtle Conservation Bonaire (STCB) conducts long-term research on green, hawksbill and loggerhead turtles and their habitat. For example, I have been into the field with them a few times to identify nests, mark them and help abandoned sea turtles on their way to the sea. Sea turtles are also measured, weighed and tagged so that their development can be followed for a certain period. Just like whales, sea turtles travel enormous distances between their feeding and breeding areas. Partly due to protection and the work of STCB, Bonaire is a relatively safe haven for sea turtles with protected beaches, coral reefs, mangroves and seagrass fields, but outside of that no or different rules apply. The work of STCB and WWF also contributes to regional and international cooperation and action. For example, we are also busy mapping Blue Corridors for sea turtles.

Nathalie Houtman
Nathalie Houtman

Was there a special moment during the fieldwork?

The most special moment for me was standing eye to eye with a huge female hawksbill turtle in the water. She is an old acquaintance of STCB. They see her return every other year to the same spot on Klein Bonaire to lay her eggs. She has been coming here to make nests for at least 20 years. In this rapidly changing world where sea turtles encounter more and more obstacles such as boats, fishing nets and lines and see their habitats disappear, it gives me so much hope that we can offer females like this a safe haven to lay eggs on Bonaire. On Bonaire, there is also a lot of attention for sea turtle protection through the work of STCB, but that is not the case everywhere in her habitat.

Are you happiest then?

I am happiest when I am diving, both with compressed air and freediving. I experience so much freedom when I am completely in the moment and can observe marine animals. If you are lucky, you can even make contact. Last year, together with underwater photographer Judith van de Griendt, freedive instructor Diederik van den Berg and marine biologist Jeroen Hoekendijk, I was allowed to swim with cetaceans in the Azores with a special permit. It was extra special for me because it was with the whale watch company I worked for 8 years ago and where I met Judith. Every day surpassed the other, but our encounter with a sperm whale calf and a group of orcas brought me to tears of joy. 

Casper Douma
Casper Douma

What did you find inspiring about your time on Bonaire? 

You are very close to nature conservation and people. Organisations such as Reef Renewal Foundationhelp make the corals stronger and more resilient. So that they can withstand threats such as climate change and have the time to adapt to the changing circumstances. They breed species that are well-resistant to all these changes. Every year, Reef Renewal Bonaire Reefiesta organizes a coral party where divers clean the coral nurseries underwater. I participated myself this year. I found it very inspiring and it gave me a lot of satisfaction. If you want to do this coral maintenance yourself, you can follow the course. Then you can even plant 'your own' coral, where they can continue to grow until they are sexually mature and can then start reproducing. It is great to become 'daddy' or 'mommy' and offer a valuable habitat to Caribbean reef fish. I think it is great that we as divers can give something back to the oceans that give us so much.

With support from WWF-NL, Dutch researchers have soaked sea urchins and released them in the sea near Saba and St. Eustatius. Why this initiative?

Healthy coral reefs cannot exist without grazers and predators. It is a balance. We see that coral reefs and marine life are becoming less and less resilient due to all the human pressures. This can lead to so-called tipping points. A tipping point where organisms do not get the chance to adapt and coral reefs, for example, become overgrown by algae. By restoring marine grazers, we can then give corals a helping hand to become resilient. That is why WWF also supports (research into) restoration projects such as sea urchin, crown snail and reef fish.

Humpback whales, striped dolphins and basking sharks are increasingly being spotted off the Dutch coast. Have you ever been spotting them?

Yes, definitely! I like to be at, on and in the sea and always look for what moves between the waves. You don't have to go abroad to see and experience special sea creatures. Often you can do that from the shore. If I can, I like to visit Studio Bruinvis at the Havenhoofd in Zierikzee. Thanks to Stichting Rugvin, you can hear porpoises there when they are nearby. You can also, just like I did, go out on the water with them during their whale courses. I can't get enough of seeing the smallest whale in the North Sea. If you have a camera, you can also submit photos of the dorsal fin of porpoises via waarnemingen.nl. See rugvin.nl for how you could contribute further.

You are a guest speaker at Duikvaker. What can I expect from your presentation?

On Saturday February 1st I would like to tell you more about the opportunities and challenges of protecting whale routes using my personal and work examples from all over the world.

Nathalie Houtman, World Wildlife Fund, guest speaker Duikvaker February 1, 2025

Stage 1, 11:00 am, On the opportunities and challenges of protecting whale routes

Nathalie Houtman IMG

Nathalie Houtman

Nathalie's work as an ocean expert at WWF focuses on one goal: reducing human impact on cetaceans and other marine animals. Through the international Protecting Whales and Dolphins initiative, Nathalie is committed to solutions to threats such as underwater noise and entanglement in fishing nets. For example, she contributes to
WWF contributes to the protection of oceans and everything that lives in them. She is happy to tell you more about her (field) work in her blogs on www.wwf.nl.

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