Patricia Naessig

Georgia Right Whale Project Team Leader

Patricia Naessig has spent the last 17 years researching the ecology and behavior of marine mammals in the Atlantic and Pacific, and educating the public about the need to conserve endangered species. After beginning her career studying the behavioral interactions of captive bottlenose dolphins, she joined a private research, conservation and education foundation based in Hawaii. For nine years, she was project leader for cetacean research programs studying humpback whale and spinner dolphin populations in Hawaii and Australia. She also acted as curator for the foundation's extensive Australian Humpback Whale Catalogue. Beyond her research activities, she worked as a naturalist conducting a wide range of ecoadventure/educational excursions in the North and South Pacific focusing on marine mammals, turtles, coral reef ecology and the conservation of marine ecosystems.

Ms. Naessig expanded her long-term study of the migration patterns of East Australian humpback whales into graduate work at the University of Queensland researching the levels and origins of predation upon this South Pacific whale population. Continuing her work with cetaceans, she joined the Wildlife Trust Aquatic Program as team leader of an ongoing research project surveying the North Atlantic right whale critical calving grounds off the southeastern United States. This study utilizes aerial surveys and behavioral observations to learn about the habitat use patterns of right whales off the Georgia coastline. The collected information is then used by federal and state management agencies to mitigate the impact of human activities such as vessel traffic and fishing on this extremely endangered population of whales.