Tahina completed his bachelor’s degree at the University of Toliara, Madagascar, and in 2023 completed his Master of Science (DEA II) at the Institut Halieutique et des Sciences Marines (IHSM) with a thesis on the Omura’s whale population off Nosy Be, Madagascar. Tahina first worked with Salvatore Cerchio in 2010 on a research sailing expedition along Madagascar’s west coast from Toliara to Mahajanga. He joined the Omura’s whale project in 2014 and has been the program manager for all Madagascar field work since 2017. Tahina leads the field deployment of acoustic instruments for the Mozambique Channel PAM project and is a skilled field biologist supporting the Omura’s whale boat surveys and photo-ID analysis, in addition to acting as our Madagascar administrative assistant.