CT Harry

From the very first moment CT Harry responded to a live bottlenose dolphin entangled in a gillnet on the shoreline of his native southeastern Virginia coast, he knew his future would be intrinsically linked to trying to protect the world’s marine mammals.

CT’s career in marine mammal sciences began while working for the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center in Virginia Beach. CT responded to both live and dead stranded marine mammals and sea turtles. Now part of IFAW for over a decade, his journey has taken him on adventures both on the open ocean as well as behind closed doors. As a scientist who has performed investigations on marine mammal health and conducted field research on population ecology, CT brings to IFAW scientific credibility coupled with the grit of field experience. From having stood knee-deep in the thoracic cavity of a deceased North Atlantic right whale that was the victim of a vessel strike, CT has seen firsthand the devastating impacts of both mankind and industry on the world’s rich marine wildlife.

For 10 years he worked as a core member of IFAW’s Marine Mammal Rescue & Research (MMRR) Program, responding to stranded marine mammals throughout Cape Cod and southeastern Massachusetts, a global stranding hotspot. After hundreds of field rescues, CT realized that in order to drive lasting impact, he would have to temporarily hang up his marine rescue gear in exchange for a suit and tie before members of Congress on Capitol Hill. In constant pursuit of educating lawmakers and policymakers to champion legislation that protects the ocean’s rich biodiversity and marine environment, CT has been a vocal component for the ocean environment before governments. Focusing on a myriad of issues related to marine policy, specifically involving threats to marine mammals from ocean noise, fishery entanglement, and vessel interaction, his expertise is well sought-out across the globe.