Search

Search
Close this search box.
Search
Close this search box.

David T. Wilson , Ph.D.

Executive Director

Overview

As Executive Director I’m responsible to the Commission who act to ensure the sustainable management of the Pacific halibut resource and the ecosystems which are impacted by its fisheries. Management of the Commission’s office and its funds, which are currently at the level of US$11 million per annum is also required. I conduct business on behalf of the Commission; ensure the Secretariat arrange for annual and other meetings of the Commission and its committees; prepare annual budget estimates, annual financial statements, and other documents required by the Commission; and the annual report of the Commission to the Contracting Parties. The Commission Secretariat consist of 32 permanent staff including scientific, technical and administrative support staff and 29 temporary staff (Setline Survey and Fisheries Data Specialist Field Staff).

Background

Although I’m originally from Australia, I’ve spent the majority of my professional working life abroad. Much of this time has been involved in fisheries science institutional management and in developing and implementing multilateral arrangements for the conservation and management of highly migratory fish stocks, and shared fish stocks in the Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean and Caribbean. My experience was largely gained while working at the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (Deputy and Acting Executive Secretary); Australian Government International Fisheries Science Head (Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries – Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences); Northern Fisheries Senior Manager at the Australian Fisheries Management Authority; Director of the Center for Marine Resource Studies in the Turks and Caicos Islands, and Fisheries Biologist with the Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources in American Samoa. I obtained my doctorate from James Cook University, Australia, in tandem with the Australian Institute of Marine Science, and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama.

  • Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), James Cook University and the Australian Institute of Marine Science, Australia. Oct. 1996 – June 2000. Thesis: Patterns and processes of coral reef fish larval supply to the San Blas Archipelago, Caribbean Panama.
  • Smithsonian Pre-Doctoral Research Fellow, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institution, Panama. Oct. 1996 – Sept. 1998.
  • Bachelor of Science with honours (B.Sc. Hons. I). James Cook University, Australia. Sept. 1994 – June 1995.
  • Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.). James Cook University, Australia. Double major in Marine Ecology and Tropical Coastal Geomorphology. Mar. 1991 – Nov. 1993.
  • Cvitanovic C et al. (2013) Critical research needs for managing coral reef marine protected areas: Perspectives of academics and managers. J Env Management. 114:84-91
  • Wilson D, Curtotti R & Begg G (eds) (2010) Fishery status reports 2009: status of fish stocks and fisheries managed by the Australian Government. Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics – Bureau of Rural Sciences, Canberra. 535pp.
  • Lemberget T, McCormick MI & Wilson DT (2009) Environmental influences on the replenishment of lizardfish (family Synodontidae) in Caribbean Panama. Coral Reefs, 28 (3). pp. 737-750.
  • Wilson D, Curtotti R, Begg G & Phillips K (eds) (2009) Fishery status reports 2008: status of fish stocks and fisheries managed by the Australian Government. Bureau of Rural Sciences & Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Canberra.
  • Trip EL, Choat JH, Wilson DT, Robertson DR (2008) Inter-oceanic analysis of demographic variation in a widely distributed Indo-Pacific coral reef fish. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 373:97-109.
  • Wilson DT, Mills CM (2008) Maximizing the benefits of an in-country foreign tertiary education provider: Turks and Caicos Islands, B.W.I. In: S Marshall (ed) External Tertiary Education Providers in the Anglophone Caribbean. U.W.I. Publishing.
  • Wilson DT, Vaughan D, Wilson SK, Simon CN, Lockhart K (2008) Bleach detection in the Spiny Lobster (Panulirus argus) fishery of the Turks and Caicos Islands, British West Indies. Fisheries Res 90: 86-01
  • Wilson DT, Vaughan D, Wilson SK, Simon CN, Lockhart K (2006) A preliminary assessment of the efficacy of a chlorine bleach detection method for use in Spiny Lobster (Panulirus argus) fisheries. Proc 57th GCFI, St. Petersburg, FL. 57: 859-868
  • Wilson SK, Wilson DT, Lamont C, Evans M (2006) Identifying individual Great Barracuda, Sphyraena barracuda using natural body marks. J Fish Biol 69: 928-932
  • Wilson DT (2003) The arrival of late-stage coral reef fish larvae in near shore waters in relation to tides and time of night. Proceedings of the 26th Annual Larval Fish Conference, Bergen, Norway. 1: 345-364
  • Wilson DT, Meekan MG (2002) Growth-related advantages for survival to the point of replenishment in the coral reef fish, Stegastes partitus (Pomacentridae). Mar Ecol Prog Ser 231:247-260
  • Wilson DT, Meekan MG (2001) Environmental influences on patterns of replenishment of coral reef fishes. Mar Ecol Prog Ser  222: 197-208
  • Wilson DT (2001) Patterns of replenishment of coral reef fishes in the nearshore waters of the San Blas Archipelago, Caribbean Panama. Mar Biol 139: 735-753
  • Hendriks IE, Wilson DT, Meekan MG (2001) Late stage larval fishes in the nearshore waters of the San Blas Archipelago: A comparison of sampling techniques and description of vertical distributions. Coral Reefs 20(1) 77-84
  • Russ GR, Lou, DC, Slade SJ, Wilson DT, Davies CR, Mapstone BD and Hatcher C (1999) The use of otolith weight to predict age structure of coral trout (Plectropomus leopardus) populations on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Proceedings of the 2nd Int Symp on Fish Otolith Res and Application. June 1998. Norway
  • Wilson DT, McCormick MI (1999) Microstructure of settlement-marks in the otoliths of tropical reef fishes. Mar Biol 134:29-41
  • Wilson DT, McCormick MI (1997) Spatial and temporal validation of settlement marks in the otoliths of tropical reef fishes. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 151: 259-271
  • IOTC–SC18 2015. Report of the 18th Session of the IOTC Scientific Committee. Bali, Indonesia 23–27 November 2015. IOTC–2015–SC18–R[E]: 175 pp.
  • IOTC–SC17 2014. Report of the Seventeenth Session of the IOTC Scientific Committee. Seychelles, 8–12 December 2014. IOTC–2014–SC17–R[E]: 357 pp.
  • IOTC–SC16 2013. Report of the Sixteenth Session of the IOTC Scientific Committee. Busan, Rep. of Korea, 2–6 December 2013. IOTC–2013–SC16–R[E]: 312 pp
  • IOTC–SC15 2012. Report of the Fifteenth Session of the IOTC Scientific Committee. Mahé, Seychelles, 10–15 December 2012. IOTC–2012–SC15–R[E]: 288 pp
  • IOTC–SC14 2011. Report of the Fourteenth Session of the IOTC Scientific Committee. Mahé, Seychelles, 12–17 December 2011. IOTC–2011–SC14–R[E]: 259 pp.
  • Wilson DT, Patterson HM, Summerson R and Hobsbawn PI (2009) Information to support management options for upper-slope gulper sharks (including Harrisson’s dogfish and southern dogfish). Final Report to the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation. Project No. 2008/65. Bureau of Rural Sciences, Canberra.
  • Wilson DT, Vaughan D, Wilson SK, Simon CN and Lockhart K (2005) SFS-CMRS/DECR Chemical Detection Research Program: Bleach detection in the Spiny Lobster (Panulirus argus) fishery of the Turks and Caicos Islands, British West Indies. SFS-CMRS Technical Report #2 pp42.
  • Cornish AS and Wilson DT (2002) The American Samoan coral reef monitoring program: An integrated long-term monitoring program for the Territory. A report from the American Samoan coral reef monitoring workshop held Pago Pago, American Samoa 19-21 March 2002 to the Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources and Coral Reef Advisory Group to the Governor. pp73.
  • Russ GR, Lou DC, Slade SJ, Wilson DT and Brown I (1998) The effects of the 1997 ELF line fishing manipulation on the age structure of the common coral trout. Report to the CRC Reef Research Centre, June 1998, 19pp.
  • Russ GR, Lou DC, Slade SJ, Wilson DT and Brown I (1997) The effects of management zoning and region on the age structure of the common coral trout on the Great Barrier Reef: Baseline catch survey for the effects of line fishing experiment. Report to CRC Reef Research Centre, November 1997, pp13.

Key representation Post-2016 (Post-movement to the IPHC)

  • IPHC Executive Director: Session leader, World Fisheries Congress, Oct 2020 (moved to Oct 2021). Topic: International fisheries and development.
  • IPHC Executive Director: Invited speaker, International Institute of Fisheries Economics & Trade (IIFET) Seattle, 16-20 July, 2018. Topic: The future of RFMO’s.

Key representation Post-2011 (Post-movement to the IOTC)

  • IOTC Deputy Executive Secretary: Invited speaker and Session Chair, Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), Capacity Building Workshop on Implementation of CITES Appendix II Listings of Shark and Manta Ray Species, Chennai, India August 26–28, 2014.
  • IOTC Deputy Executive Secretary: Invited speaker and Session Chair, Southwest Indian Ocean Fisheries Commission (SWIOFC), sub-group meeting on Tuna Management, Seychelles. February 2014.
  • IOTC Deputy Executive Secretary: Invited speaker, Southwest Indian Ocean Fisheries Commission (SWIOFC), Scientific Committee. February 2012.
  • IOTC Deputy Executive Secretary: Assist the Executive Secretary in supporting the Kobe III meeting and process. La Jolla, California, USA, 12–14 July, 2011.
  • IOTC Deputy Executive Secretary: Numerous Sessions of the IOTC and its subsidiary bodies as well as IOTC representation at bilateral meetings of our Members. 2011–Current.

Key representation Pre-2011 (Pre-movement to the IOTC)

  • Head of the Australian Delegation: 13th  Session of the Scientific Committee of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission, Seychelles, 6–10 December 2010
  • Head of the Australian Delegation: 6th Session of the Scientific Committee of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission, Tonga, 10–19 August 2010
  • Head of the Australian Delegation: 12th Session of the Scientific Committee of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission, Seychelles, 30 November to 4 December 2009
  • Head of the Australian Delegation: 5th Session of the Scientific Committee of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission, Vanuatu, 10-21 August 2009
  • Head of the Australian Delegation: 11th Session of the Scientific Committee of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission, Seychelles, 1-5 December 2008

Pre-2007 (General conference representation- non-exhaustive)

  • Executive Board Meeting of the Association of Marine Laboratories of the Caribbean, Bermuda (June 14-18, 2006). Sitting member of the Board of Directors of the AMLC.
  • 32nd Scientific Meeting of the Association of Marine Laboratories of the Caribbean, Curacao, June 13-17, 2005.
  • 57th Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute Meeting, St. Petersburg, Florida, Nov 7th – 12th.
  • Executive Board Meeting of the Association of Marine Laboratories of the Caribbean, Grenada (July 22-24, 2004). Sitting member of the Board of Directors of the AMLC.
  • 31st Annual Scientific meeting of the Association of Marine Laboratories of the Caribbean, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago (July 14-18, 2003).
  • World Congress on Aquatic Protected Areas, Cairns, Australia (August 14-17, 2002). Presented on the current plans for Marine Protected Areas in American Samoa on behalf of the American Samoan Government.
  • Pacific Islands High Level Consultation: Investing in Adaptation, Nadi, Fiji, May 14-16, 2002. Represented the Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources, ASG.
  • Regional Consultation on Pacific Preparations for the World Summit on Sustainable Development, Nadi, Fiji, May 17, 2002. Represented the Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources, ASG.
  • Pacific Basin Development Council, Vessel Grounding workshop, Honolulu, Hawaii, January 28-30, 2002. Presented the Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources Vessel Grounding action plan.
  • Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network – Coral Reef Monitoring workshop, Coral Coast, Fiji (August 26-31, 2001). Co-presented
  • Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD): Member