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Our Management Committee

Rebecca Bird is WWF-New Zealand's marine programme leader and representative on global work to reduce seabird by-catch. Her seabird work includes technical advisory roles, direct engagement with the fishing industry over mitigation development, and liaising with government and communities on by-catch issues. Rebecca graduated from the University of Otago Marine Science Department and has been involved in marine conservation work for over five years.  When not working for the marine environment Rebecca likes to spend her time enjoying it by being out on the water, in the water or reading about all that can be found in the deep blue.

Chris Carey (Honorary Management Committee Member) is a fisherman, writer and conservationist. He has been a skipper for Independent Fisheries Ltd (IFL) since 2004. In that role he works closely with IFL management on fisheries management and ways to improve sustainability. Chris was an original member of the Southern Seabird Solutions’ offal and bird mitigation workshops. In 2005 he won international recognition for his seabird mitigation work, as a runner-up in WWF’s International Smart Gear competition for inventing a simple device that stops seabirds getting caught on wires attached to trawl nets. Chris also writes for several magazines, including Seafood New Zealand and Fishing News International.

Russell Harding works in the Marine Conservation Services section of the Department of Conservation. Marine Conservation Services undertakes research that includes seabird and marine mammal population studies, projects investigating the interaction between protected species and commercial fisheries, and both seabird and marine mammal bycatch mitigation trials. He has a research background in the population dynamics of rain forest trees and has also participated in a range of conservation and bird research projects. Russell joined the Department in May 2010.

Dave Kellian has been a fisherman for more than 30 years.  Dave skippers his own 20 metre vessel, longlining for southern bluefin, bigeye and yellowfin tuna. Over the years he’s fished in New Zealand, Australia and South Africa using a wide range of fishing techniques and is dedicated to reducing seabird captures. A pioneer of New Zealand’s tuna fishery, Dave’s been at the forefront of initiatives for seabird-smart fishing and has also committed significant amounts of personal time and money to develop new mitigation solutions. Dave’s also travelled to Peru to talk friendly fishing methods with fishermen and other stakeholders in that country.

Dave Kreutz is an extension agent for SeaNet, an environmental extension service to the Australian seafood industry that provides fishers with information and advice on improved fishing gear, technology and methods. For 20 years prior he was a professional fisher in various fisheries, including the Eastern Tuna and Billfish Fishery (ETBF). When still ‘just’ a fisherman Dave invented and trialed the Kreutz Road-Cone Tori Line. This tori-line has since been adopted and been proven successful in fisheries all over the world including pelagic longline, demersal longline and trawl fisheries. Dave’s ambition is to work with fishers to make the ETBF a world leading environmentally sustainable pelagic fishery for seabirds, turtles and other by-catch species.

Janice Molloy, Convenor, has spent most of her career to date working in marine and terrestrial conservation for the Department of Conservation, with a focus on threatened species management. As part of her role she organised a workshop of stakeholders interested in working together to address and solve seabird by-catch, both in New Zealand and other southern hemisphere countries. From this meeting, Southern Seabird Solutions was born. Janice has since left the Department, but continues as Convenor of Southern Seabird Solutions. Janice is also a Board Director of Antarctica New Zealand.

Geordie Murman grew up in the fishing village of Leigh, spending school holidays working on snapper and cray boats. He spent ten years with the Wildlife Service, specialising in protected species and pest eradication on offshore islands. and was involved in recovery of Chatham Island Taiko, Oystercatcher, Black Robin, and Chatham Pigeon.  In 1992 Geordie started fishing - diving for paua and crayfishing, first at the Chatham Islands, then in the Hauraki Gulf.  He currently runs fishing and birdwatching charters out of Leigh.

 

Alan Riwaka is of Te Atiawa Ngati Rarua descent and was born and raised in Te Tau Ihu (the top of the South Island). For the past seven years Alan has worked for the Maori Fisheries Commission and its predecessor Te Ohu Kaimoana Trustee Ltd. As Senior Fisheries Management Advisor, Alan is an advocate of Maori fishing interests and responsible for representing Te Ohu Kaimoana in Ministry of Fisheries and industry fisheries management processes, including stock sustainability, developing fisheries, environmental impacts, and seabird mitigation. Alan has been a member of Southern Seabird Solutions since it was established in 2004.
Doug Saunders-Loder is Resource Manager for Talley’s Group Limited. Doug is also the President of the New Zealand Federation of Commercial Fishermen – a role he has held for the past seven years. Doug has been in the fishing industry for 23 years and over that time has been a strong advocate for inshore fishermen. He is currently  involved in inshore fisheries issues ranging from Total Allowable Commercial Catch (TACC) increases to property rights protection to implementing environmental standards.
Anna Smith is a fisheries analyst with the inshore management team at the Ministry of Fisheries. In this role, she looks at managing fishing impacts on habitats and ecosystems, and impacts on protected species like seabirds. Anna graduated with a PhD in fish ecology from Victoria University in 2009 and joined the Ministry in 2010. In her spare time Anna is a keen diver and fisher.
Daryl Smith is Sealord Group's International Fleet and Operations Manager.
He has had 25 years working with both domestic and offshore vessel operations, most recently having returned to New Zealand after 7 years managing the companies Argentine subsidiary Yuken SA, where they operate 2 factory trawl vessels. Yuken was one of the first fishing enterprises in Argentina to begin to work with Seabird Mitigation measures in the trawl fleet.
Richard Wells is an Associate of Clement & Associates, Fisheries Advocates and Specialists and works with the Deepwater Group Ltd. Currently his main focus is on environmental effects of fishing issues, fisheries economics and management policy. Recent professional highlights include leading the development of the Benthic Protection Area concept and plan in partnership with Clement and Associates, and successfully delivering it to industry. He has spent much of the last two years working with the deepwater trawl fleet to reduce and manage interactions with seabirds and sealions. Before becoming a consultant in 2005, Richard spent many years working for Sealord in a variety of roles, including Fishing Operations Manager and General Manager Processing.