Hugh Finn

Wildlife Biologist and Consultant

Hugh Finn is a freelance wildlife biologist with a decade of field experience working with marine mammals in Australia, Kenya, Hawaii, and the mainland U.S. He completed his PhD at Murdoch University in Perth, Western Australia in 2005. Although his research background has focused on small cetaceans, Hugh has also worked with tiger sharks in Western Australia, Hawaiian monk seals in the Northwest Hawaiian Islands, and larger cetaceans as an offshore marine mammal observer.

Hugh brings a diverse range of life experiences, qualifications, and skills to his work. He enlisted in the U.S Army out of high school and deployed to Somalia in 1993 as part of Operation Restore Hope. Hugh went on to complete his Bachelor of Arts in English at Oberlin College and subsequently obtained a Bachelor of Applied Science in Environmental Science from Murdoch University. During his PhD research in Perth, Hugh worked as a part-time lecturer in marine studies within Australia’s vocational educational system and as a as a skipper and trainer for the Fremantle Volunteer Sea Rescue Group. Hugh has strong communication and leadership skills and is an excellent public-speaker and teacher. He has a range of maritime qualifications, including a commercial skipper’s ticket in Western Australia.

Hugh’s research background and interests are in marine mammal conservation and the management of human-wildlife interactions. His PhD research addressed the conservation biology of bottlenose dolphins in the metropolitan waters of Perth. This research improved the scientific basis for environmental decision-making in Cockburn Sound—Perth’s main industrial area—by providing information on the implications of habitat change and illegal provisioning for the long-term conservation of bottlenose dolphins within the Sound.

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