Ian has over 35 years of experience as a fisheries management and development
practitioner. He specialises in developing fisheries management and development
strategies and facilitating multi-stakeholder forums.
Ian started his career spending 10 years as a fisherman and fishing enterprise owner, operating inshore fishing vessels up to 24 metres in the southern North Sea. He then completed a B.Sc. (Hons) in Fisheries Science and subsequently a M.Sc. (Econ) with
distinction at the London School of Economics. He is now working on his PhD.
In the Pacific Ian has lived and worked in Tonga as Principal adviser to the Director of Fisheries; and in the Solomon Islands as Deputy Director, Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA). He is based in Hobart, Tasmania and continues to work as a fisheries management specialist in Australia and the Pacific. He is well connected with governments and other agencies and recently worked on the design of Phase 2 of the New Zealand-funded Tuvalu Fisheries Support Programme. Ian works at a strategic level on oceanic and coastal fisheries management plans and harvest strategies,  and is particularly knowledgeable about the tuna fishery.
Ian is also active in the development and communication of harvest strategies for coastal and offshore fisheries and has an enduring interest in capacity building and mentoring. He is currently mentoring three fisheries professionals.
Ian is a former Commissioner for the Australian Fisheries Management Authority and chairs various statutory and ad-hoc state and federal fisheries advisory committees and scientific research and development committees in Australia. He is a member of the Minister’s Expert Fisheries Advisory Panel in Queensland.
When not behind a desk, Ian is out fishing, often with his adult children who have
inherited a passion for the sea, boats and fishing.