Who We Are

Stuart-Kininmonth

Stuart Kininmonth

Senior Lecturer, School of Marine Studies

University of the South Pacific, Suva, Fiji

Dr. Stuart Kininmonth is a senior lecturer at the University of the South Pacific’s School of Marine Studies, where he teaches Coral Reef Ecology, Marine Spatial Planning, Marine Geology and Sedimentology. He also supervises post graduate, Masters and Doctoral students, including Pacific Catalyst Fellows. Stuart obtained his PhD from the University of Queensland, where he explored the role of networks in the ecology and conservation planning of coral reefs. He has over 20 years of field experience in marine and coral reef ecology. Stuart’s research is focused on understanding the complex interplay between social and natural systems.

In addition to his work in the Pacific, Stuart collaborates with the Stockholm Resilience Centre (Stockholm University) modeling Baltic Sea fisheries and governance drivers in natural resource systems. He enjoys writing for magazines on various topics including cruising and climate change and has published 38 peer reviewed articles and book chapters.

Karly Kelso

Senior Manager, Asia-Pacific Oceans

Environmental Defense Fund

New York, NY

Karly Kelso is a Senior Manager with Environmental Defense Fund, where she oversees the day to day management of EDF’s Asia-Pacific projects in China, Japan, Philippines, Indonesia and Pacific Tuna. She holds a B.A. in Anthropology from Wake Forest University and a Master in Environmental Management (MEM) from the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies.

Her personal and professional connection to the Western and Central Pacific started in 2011 as a sustainable development and marine resource policy advisor to the Permanent Mission of the Republic of the Marshall Islands to the United Nations and a delegation member to Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development.

Through her engagement with Pacific Catalyst, she hopes to facilitate the exchange of tools, resources, and lessons learned in the region to build a growing network of fishery practitioners and to support the sustainable management of Pacific resources.

Moses-Mataika

Moses Mataika

School of Marine Studies

University of the South Pacific

Moses obtained his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of the South Pacific (USP) in 2018 and a postgraduate diploma in 2019.

While an undergrad, Moses worked on aquaculture projects as an assistant in the Secretariat of the Pacific’s (SPC) Division of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Marine Ecosystems. At USP he has served as a teaching assistant for courses including Marine Spatial Planning, Coral Reef Ecology, and Management and Marine Sedimentology. He has also worked as a research assistant for the University of Middlesex, collaborating with the Fiji Locally Managed Marine Area Network and Wildlife Conservation Society to examine potential joint development of marine area network sites in Fiji.

Moses is currently pursuing graduate research that will examine costs and benefits of the Vessel Day Scheme system in Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) countries. His work with Pacific Catalyst will examine potential benefits and costs to Pacific island nations from introduction of transferable tuna fishing access rights within the context of the United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement, relevant conservation measures of the regional fisheries management organizations, and the PNA Vessel Day Scheme itself.

Moses talks about his studies, his research and his inspiration….

Siale-Suamalie

Siale Suamalie

School of Marine Studies

University of the South Pacific

Siale Suamalie is a Tuvaluan who graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Marine Management from the University of the South Pacific. Following graduation, he worked as a senior fisheries officer with the Tuvalu Fisheries Department (TFD) under the Ministry of Natural Resources. During his time at TDF he helped facilitate rights-based management plans for outer islands in collaboration with the Ridge to Reef (R2R) and Tuvalu National Adaptation Program Action Project.

Siale is currently serving as a Pacific Catalyst Fellow, building on his foundational fisheries knowledge and leadership skills while pursuing post-graduate study with a particular focus on statutory management of marine resources at both the national and regional levels.

Siale talks about his studies, his research and his inspiration….

Salome-Taufa-School-of-Marine-Studies-headshot

Salome Taufa

Resource Economist

Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat

Suva, Fiji

Dr. Salome Taufa recently joined the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS) as a Resource Economist. Before joining PIFS Dr. Taufa was a Lecturer of Marine Resource Economics and Integrated Coastal Zone Management at the University of the South Pacific’s School of Marine Affairs and was also the head of the economic division of Tonga’s Ministry of Fisheries. She obtained her Masters and Ph.D. in Fisheries Economics from the Kagoshima University, Japan, where her research centered on the supply chain and marketing of fresh tuna. Her current research is geared towards the use of rights-based systems to sustainably manage—and improve economic benefits derived from—marine resources of Pacific Island nations.

Through her work with Pacific Catalyst, Dr. Taufa has carried out research on how rights-based fisheries management can be used to improve the management of and the return from marine resources in Tonga. She intends to continue to carry out research and contribute to building innovative thinking towards the management of marine resources in the region and to foster a new generation of future-focused fisheries leaders across Pacific Island nations.

John Virdin

Director, Ocean and Coastal Policy Program

Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions

Duke University

John Virdin directs the Ocean and Coastal Policy Program at Duke University’s Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, where he assists developing nations in reforming and strengthening governance of their ocean resources, particularly fisheries.

Prior to his current position, John worked for more than 10 years at the World Bank on oceans and fisheries governance, and helped the organization increase its lending for sustainable oceans to more than US$1 billion. His work at the World Bank helped generate some $40 million for fisheries and ocean conservation in Pacific Island nations.

Through his work with Pacific Catalyst, John hopes to make the resources and expertise at Duke University available to support Pacific tuna fisheries policy, and exchange with students and young professionals in the region.

Brett Haywood

Managing Director, Sea Quest & Managing Director, Sealand Processors (Fiji) Limited

Suva, Fiji

Brett Haywood leads the Sea Quest Group, comprised of Sea Quest, a domestic, Fiji-based fish harvesting company that operates six longline vessels, and Sealand Processors, which processes tuna and associated species. A third-generation member of a family supported by the sea, Brett began fishing at 15 when he joined the crew of a factory trawler out of Nelson, New Zealand.

A subsequent fishing trip on a tuna hand-line boat ignited Brett’s awe and deep respect for tuna, which has only increased in the 30 years since. He was among a small group of fishermen who pioneered the New Zealand tuna long-line fishery, which eventually brought him into Fijian waters where he has been ever since. From his position at Sea Quest Group and through decades of fisheries management discussions in regional bodies, Brett has championed the connections between plentiful tuna resources, sustainable economies, and thriving Pacific Island communities. As chairman of the Pacific Island Tuna Industry Association and as an executive member of the Fiji Fishing Industry Association, Brett believes that Pacific Catalyst provides a collaborative platform to share the challenges of domestic fishing companies and to help deliver an equitable return for everyone involved in tuna fisheries of the Pacific.

Anne-Maree Schwarz

Team Leader

Programme Mekem Strong Solomon Island Fisheries

Ministy of Fisheries and Marine Resources

Honiara, Solomon Islands

Dr Anne-Maree Schwarz is a New Zealander and an aquatic ecologist who has been working in Antarctic, temperate and tropical ecosystems for more than 25 years. Since 2005 her work has focused on Pacific coastal fisheries management and particularly community-based approaches. Anne-Maree has been involved in coastal fisheries management and development projects in Solomon Islands since 2005, first as a volunteer scientist for WorldFish through New Zealand’s Volunteer Service Abroad Scheme and then as a Country Programme Manager for WorldFish. She led the CGIAR Aquatic Agricultural Systems Research Programme in Solomon Islands from 2012-2015.

Anne-Maree is currently the Team Leader for the NZAID funded Institutional Strengthening Programme in the Solomon Islands’ Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources and is an honorary senior fellow at ANCORS, University of Wollongong. With more than 50 publications in the primary science literature, her interests now lie in supporting career development for young Pacific researchers and managers, and participatory research that improves locally relevant sustainable development.

Lara Manarangi-Trott

Compliance Manager

Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) Secretariat

Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia

Dr. Lara Manarangi-Trott is a Cook Islander with a background in marine science, environmental management, international fisheries law and policy. Her early career included working as a senior fisheries officer with the Ministry of Marine Resources, Cook Islands. She further developed her research and analytical skills during her PhD candidature, through six years at the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) and in her present career at Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC). Participation at regional and international fisheries meetings, as a national delegate, as an advisor connected to the FFA and as senior staff member of the WCPFC, has provided her the opportunity to develop a professional approach to fisheries management and international relations at both the regional and international level.

Currently, Lara serves as Compliance Manager for the WCPFC, which works to conserve, manage and ensure the sustainable use of tuna and billfish. With 26 member countries and other cooperating countries, the WCPFC oversees a region that accounts for over 50% of global tuna production. Lara oversees all monitoring and compliance programmes, and supports the Commission’s consideration of how emerging technologies could complement and enhance existing fisheries management tools and approaches.

Transform Aqorau

Legal consultant and CEO iTuna Intel

Solomon Islands

Transform Aqorau is founding director of Pacific Catalyst. From 2010 to 2018 he served the Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) in a variety of roles including legal consultant, director, and chief executive officer. PNA is a regional fisheries body made up of governments of the Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Tuvalu.

From 2004-2010 Transform served as deputy director-general of the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency, a regional intergovernmental organization that provides legal, policy, economic and enforcement advice concerning tuna fisheries to 17 Pacific Island countries including Australia and New Zealand.

Transform holds a master’s degree in International Law from the University of British Columbia and a Ph.D. in International Fisheries Law and Management from the University of Wollongong.

John Hampton

Chief Scientist and Acting Director Fisheries, Aquaculture and Marine Ecosystems

The Pacific Community (SPC)

Noumea, New Caledonia

John Hampton is chief scientist and deputy director of the Pacific Community’s (SPC) Division of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Marine Ecosystems. Since 2002 he has lead SPC’s Oceanic Fisheries Programme.

Upon obtaining his BSc from James Cook University in 1977, John worked in the Fisheries Division of the Department of Primary Industries in Canberra and later moved to the Australian federal government’s Commonwealth Scientific Industrial and Research Organization (CSIRO), where he worked on southern bluefin tuna stock assessment. In 1987, after completing his Ph.D. at the University of New South Wales, John moved to New Caledonia and joined the Pacific Community as senior fisheries scientist. Initially his work involved analysis of tuna tagging data and planning and implementation of the EU-funded Regional Tuna Tagging Project. In recent years he has focused on development and application of the MULTIFAN-CL stock assessment model for tropical tunas in the western and central Pacific. John brings extensive practical and technical experience to his advisory role with Pacific Catalyst.

Duke University is a higher education and research institution with locations in North Carolina, Singapore and China. Duke University is home to multiple schools and institutes that focus on marine and coastal issues, including the Nicholas School of the Environment, the Duke University Marine Lab, and the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions. Policy experts at the Nicholas Institute aim to bridge the gap between policy makers and scientific expertise by working with agencies on issues of research, data gathering, and training opportunities and collaborating with faculty members from different programs at Duke University.

TEAM

Transform Aqorau

Stuart Kaye

John Virdin

Karly Kelso

Quentin Hanich

Salome Taufa

Stuart Kininmonth

ADVISORS

Tim Adams

Brett Haywood

Lara Manarangi-Trott

Anne-Maree Schwarz

John Hampton

Fellows

Moses Mataika

Siale Suamalie

PARTNERS

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