Dr. Barry McGovern

Barry joined Pacific Whale Foundation Australia in 2021 as the Australian Research Associate where he manages the research team and leads the field operations to conduct research on the threats cetaceans face in East Australia. He completed his PhD research at the University of Queensland, in Brisbane, where he studied the acoustic behaviour of bottlenose dolphins. He also has a masters degree from the Sea Mammal Research Unit at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. Barry has a very broad range of cetacean research experience from a host of different locations around the world. In his home country of Ireland, he has worked with universities, non-profits and in industry, all focused on the conservation of cetaceans and other marine megafauna. He spent two years in Scotland working for a government agency as the marine strandings coordinator, monitoring cetacean strandings, undertaking necropsies and attending live strandings. He also spent a number of years in Namibia and South Africa, running field operations for a cetacean research non-profit on the Skeleton Coast.

Memberships and Affiliations:

Barry sits on the Hervey Bay Whale Heritage Site Steering Committee and is a member of the European Cetacean Society, the Society for Marine Mammalogy and ORRCA research and rescue.