Jessica Meeuwig

Institution:
University of Western Australia

Profile

My research in the British Indian Ocean Territory revolves around documenting the status of pelagic fish assemblages in the marine protected area.

I am marine ecologist at heart, focussing on understanding the ecology of reef and open ocean shark and fish assemblages and on the way in which their status reflects anthropogenic impacts and management responses.

My research group works across a range of taxa, including humpback whales, sharks and bony fish. It incorporates benthic ecology to answer key questions about how animals use their habitat. Additionally, I am investigating the extent of the human impact on oceanic animal ecology, population biology and energetics.

I am particularly interested in developing non-destructive video and image based sampling methods such as baited remote underwater video systems (BRUVS) which have been used extensively in the Indian Ocean Region as an alternative to catch records from the now banned fishing industry.

A multidisciplinary approach to marine conservation is key to the understanding of our oceans fish stocks and how MPA management can halt their decline.

Jessica Meeuwig

Biography

2012 Present
ZSL Fellow
2008 Present
Director, Centre for Marine Futures, Oceans Institute, University of Western Australia
1993 1998
Ph.D., McGill University
1991 1993
Masters, Environmental Studies, Dalhousie University

My Project

  • Tackling Illegal Fishing
    Using Drones for IUU Surveillance and Marine Megafauna Monitoring in MPAs

Other interests

I am currently the director and research leader of the Marine Futures Lab, our aim is to directly inform the public and influence policy and management actions from a national to an international scale. Our group is part of the Ocean Science Council of Australia (OSCA), a syndicate of leading Australian experts in marine conservation.

Publications

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