Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life
Amy Knowlton is a senior scientist who has worked on the Right Whale Research Program since 1983. She has been involved in all aspects of the program, including fieldwork, curation of the photo-identification catalog, assessment of human impacts, and policy efforts to protect right whales.
Amy’s main focus has been the detailed documentation of human impacts on right whales, including fishing-gear entanglement and vessel strikes. By evaluating these data in-depth and linking these findings with the operational aspects of the fishing and shipping industries, she has been able to share these findings with industry groups and guide policy changes in order to improve the protection of right whales from these activities.