Scott Kraus

Scott Kraus, Ph.D.

Emeritus Scientist

T: 617-973-5457
skraus@neaq.org

 

CV

Media Inquiries: Members of the media may direct all inquiries to Media Relations at psnyder@neaq.org or 617-973-5213.

Education

Ph.D., Zoology, University of New Hampshire 2002
M.S., Biology, University of Massachusetts Boston, 1991
B.A., Human Ecology, College of the Atlantic, 1977

About

Dr. Scott Kraus has more than 40 years of field research on whales and dolphins. He has been a research scientist in the Aquarium’s Research Laboratory since 1980, and has published more than 110 papers on marine mammals, bluefin tuna, harbor porpoise, fisheries, and bycatch. Scott has worked on the biology of North Atlantic right whales since 1980, publishing numerous papers on right whale biology and conservation. He is co-editor of “The Urban Whale,” a 2007 Harvard University Press book on right whales in the North Atlantic. He was a member of the original U.S. National Right Whale Recovery Team, currently serves on the U.S. Large Whale Take Reduction Team, and is a member of the research faculty at the University of Massachusetts, Boston.

His early work included the use of photo-identification of individual animals as a basis for studying the population biology of whales, developing the use of pingers for reducing porpoise bycatch in gillnets, and assessing of marine mammals from aerial surveys. Recent research projects have included studies on marine mammals and sea turtles around proposed wind farm sites, developing methods for reducing incidental bycatch of cetaceans in fishing gear, exploring visual capacities of cetaceans, and investigating the oceanographic underpinnings of marine mammal concentrations in the new Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument. His overarching research interests encompass identifying and testing methods for reducing the impacts of human activities on cetaceans and the marine environment.

  1. scott kraus lecture 1
    Lecture
  2. Anderon Cabot Center VP Scott Kraus delivers a lecture.
    Lecture

  1. Select Publications

    Stone, K.M., S. M. Leiter, R. D. Kenney, B. C. Wikgren, J. L. Thompson, J. K. D. Taylor, and S.D. Kraus. 2017.  Distribution and abundance of cetaceans in a wind energy development area offshore of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. J. Coast. Conserv. 21:527–543. doi.org/10.1007/s11852-017-0526-4

    Kraus, S.D., R.D. Kenney, C.A. Mayo, W.A. McLellan, M.J. Moore, D.P. Nowacek. 2016. Recent Scientific Publications Cast Doubt on North Atlantic Right Whale Future. Front. Mar. Sci. 3:137. doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2016.00137

    Rolland, R.M., R. S. Schick, H. M. Pettis, A. R. Knowlton, P. K. Hamilton, J. S. Clark, and S.D. Kraus. 2016. Health of North Atlantic right whales, Eubalaena glacialis, over three decades: from individual health to demographic and population health trends. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Series Vol. 542: 265–282. doi.org/10.3354/meps11547

    Kraus, S.D. and R. M. Rolland (Eds.) 2007a. The Urban Whale: North Atlantic Right Whales at the Crossroads. Harvard University Press. Cambridge, Massachusetts. 543 p. doi.org/10.1644/08-MAMM-R-133.1

    Kraus, S.D. 2006. Fishing for a new paradigm – Balancing sustainability, profitability, and safety in modern fisheries. Mar. Tech Soc. J. 40(3): 4-5. doi.org/10.4031/002533206787353295

    Kraus, S.D., M. W. Brown, H. Caswell, C. W. Clark, M. Fujiwara, P. K. Hamilton, R. D. Kenney, A. R. Knowlton, Scott Landry, C. A. Mayo, W. A. McLellan, M. J. Moore, D. P. Nowacek, D. A. Pabst, A. J. Read, R. M. Rolland. 2005. North Atlantic Right Whales in Crisis. Science 309: 561-562. doi.org/10.1126/science.1111200

    Kraus, S.D., A. Read, E. Anderson, K. Baldwin, A, Solow, T. Spradlin, and J. Williamson. 1997. Acoustic alarms reduce porpoise mortality. Nature 388: 525. doi.org/10.1038/41451

    Lutcavage, M. and S.D. Kraus. 1995. The feasibility of direct assessment of giant bluefin tuna in the Gulf of Maine. Fish Bull. 93:495-503. https://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/spo/FishBull/933/lutcavage.pdf

    Kraus, S.D. 1990. Rates and potential causes of mortality in North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena glacialis). Mar. Mamm. Sci. 6(4):278-291. doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-7692.1990.tb00358.x

  2. News

    1. Yale Environment 360: Already on Brink, Right Whales Are Pushed Closer to the Edge
    2. New York Times: As Seas Warm, Whales Face New Dangers
    3. Bangor Daily News: Why the drop in right whales has Maine lobstermen worried
    4. Christian Science Monitor: How a better rope could help save the endangered right whale
    5. Phys.org: Method to estimate abundance, trends in North Atlantic right whales confirms decline
    6. Science Daily: North Atlantic right whales decline confirmed: 458 remaining
    7. Boston Globe: The New England Aquarium’s search for the right whale
    8. Science Magazine: The North Atlantic right whale faces extinction
    9. EcoWatch: North Atlantic Right Whale Population Dips Below 450 After 'Deadliest Year' Since Whaling Era
    10. CBS News: We may be underestimating whale-boat collisions
    11. Science Daily: Endangered right whale population threatened by entanglements and dramatically declining birth rate

  3. Awards

    Certificate of Recognition, U.S. Dept. of Commerce, 1997 (Harbor porpoise Take Reduction team)

    Coastal America Award, 1997 (Right Whale Monitoring Team)

    Team Award for Excellence, 2002, PEO TSC of the U.S. Navy Ship Shock Trial

    Canadian Whale Institute, 2004

  4. Affiliations

    1. Research faculty, University of Massachusetts, Boston
    2. Editorial board, Marine Technology Society Journal
    3. Reviewer, Marine Conservation Action Fund
    4. Member, technical advisor, U.S. National Right Whale Recovery Team
    5. Technical advisor, U.S Harbor Porpoise Recovery Team
    6. Board member, North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium
    7. Member, American Association for the Advancement of Science
    8. Charter member, Society for Marine Mammalogy
  1. [IMG] Right whale researchers watch a whale from a boat.

    Kraus Marine Mammal Conservation Program