OCEAN ALLIANCE 

As founder and president of the Ocean Alliance, Payne devoted more than 50 years to the study and protection of whales and the oceans they call home. He discovered that whales sing and that their songs propagate across oceans. His whale song recordings became immensely popular and helped launch the “Save the Whales” movement, which led to a moratorium on whaling from the International Whaling Commission (IWC). Beyond leading more than 100 ocean expeditions, he worked with the IWC to create whale sanctuaries throughout the world.