Dr Peter Gill

Dr Peter Gill

Dr Peter Gill

Dr Pete Gill is CEO of the Blue Whale Study, based near Portland Victoria, and an Honorary Research Fellow at Deakin University, Warrnambool. He became involved in whale research in 1983, working with Dr Bill Dawbin on then-scarce species including humpback and southern right whales, before branching out into his own studies of humpback migration. During the 1990s, after embarking on several private Antarctic sailing expeditions, he assisted Dr Deb Thiele in initiating studies in Antarctic whale ecology from R/V Aurora Australis.  

In February 1998 he started a long-term research project on the feeding ecology of pygmy blue whales in the Bonney Upwelling and adjacent waters off south-east Australia. The Blue Whale Study was the first ecological study of blue whales in Australian waters, and is now the longest-running blue whale research program in the Southern Hemisphere. Research methods have included aerial surveys, a range of small vessel studies, land-based surveys, and remote sensing of the upwelling environment.

 Blue Whale Study also carries out community education programs including a marine science youth mentoring program, and operates as a marine mammal consultant to offshore industry. Pete completed a PhD on blue whale ecology at Deakin University, Warrnambool in 2004, and is the author of numerous publications on cetacean ecology and biology.