Alison Gill

Whale Biologist and Guide

Alison is a freelance whale biologist and guide. Trained at Aberdeen University with a Masters degree in Marine and Fisheries Science, she has worked since in the field of whale and dolphin research and wildlife tourism. Her university studies in 1994 took her to the beautiful island of Mull in the Hebrides to study the minke whale, building up photographic catalogues of individual whales to gain an insight into the ecology of this species (see www.projectminke.com). Her time at sea guiding aboard whale watching boats and collecting data on the whales she observed, opened her eyes to the amazing interaction of marine life, especially the seabirds that so often associated with the feeding whales. Alison also conducted acoustic studies of Risso’s dolphins while residing in the Hebrides, matching the animal’s vocalisations with their behaviour. Her guiding work expanded to other countries including South Africa, Canada, Iceland, USA, Gibraltar, Azores and Antarctica.

She has an extensive knowledge of whale and dolphin biology and ecology and regularly gives public talks. She recently wrote a scientific review of marine mammals in the Antarctic for an environmental impact assessment to investigate the possible effects of acoustic disturbance. Other work she is currently undertaking is the environmental monitoring of the oil and gas industry, spending weeks offshore aboard seismic survey vessels. The aim of this work is to minimise acoustic disturbance to marine mammals from the seismic airguns used to locate oil reserves below the seabed.

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