Nancy
Friday
NOAA National Marine Mammal Laboratory

Nancy Friday is a Research Fishery Biologist at the National Marine Mammal Laboratory in Seattle, WA. Previously, she was a National Research Council (NRC) Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Protected Species Branch at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center, Woods Hole, MA, where she conducted research on North Atlantic humpback whale population dynamics.

Nancy received a PhD in Oceanography with an emphasis in Biological Oceanography from the Graduate School of Oceanography of the University of Rhode Island. Her dissertation focused on photographic identification methods for estimating the abundance of the North Atlantic humpback whale population.

Nancy’s primary research interests include: 1) modeling cetacean distribution relative to their environment with the goal of predicting distribution, 2) estimating the abundance of cetacean populations using distance sampling and photographic identification, mark-recapture methods, 3) modeling cetaceans as part of their marine ecosystems, and 4) improving the management and conservation of cetaceans through the development of quantitative models.

She is currently studying cetacean distribution and abundance in relation to the oceanographic domains on the Eastern Bering Sea shelf. This study uses distance sampling methods to analyze sightings data collected by cetacean observers on walleye pollock stock assessment surveys. Nancy is also studying the seasonal occurrence and distribution of large whales in the Gulf of Alaska. This study models the presence/absence of large whale vocalizations relative to oceanographic conditions.