Dear Yulia, we are trying to contact Phil and you, but both your e-mails return back our messages...:-( Can you please send us your new email addresses or respond directly to my e-mail: [email protected]

Dear Phil and Yulia,

I hope all of you are well, safe, healthy and happy and even busy with interesting projects!

It seems it is already 5 years since we met in Glyfada! Time is passing very quickly...

We are about to start perhaps the most important, exciting and complicate expedition on sperm whales along the Hellenic Trench we ever made... We have just deployed a pioneer pilot system of almost real time 3D localization of them in S Crete. The system will be able to inform large passing vessels (and us as well..) in order to avoid ship-strikes with sperm whales in the area! The system was an old dream I had some 20 years ago (although not for ship-strikes by that time) and it is so close to turn into reality! Next week we will head to the field for a two month boat survey that will spent one month in S Crete validating the acoustic buoy system in the presence of whales.

At the same time we will have three drones on board for size estimation of sperm whales and some other body measurements and behavioral recording.

I am writing to ask if through Yulia you may have access and copies of any of the attached papers by Berzin or you may have or are aware of any papers (Russian, or from the whaling era or from strandings) that have data on sperm whale tooth length and on sperm whale age. Apart Berzin's book, we could find very few relevant papers...:-(  We still do not know if there was any sperm whale ever aged above 64 years, and we are looking for Berzin's data that led him to the statement that the maximum tooth length is 23 cm...

Any help would be greatly appreciated. (a Russian friend in Greece is willing to help us with translations)

But even if you can have/find nothing, this was a great opportunity to think of you and write to you and hopefully have your news!

Many hugs and wishes for a nice summer,

Alexandros

PS: Voula is also sending you hugs

PS2: Do you have news from Katerina? It's been a long time we did not hear from her. Hope and wish she is also fine!