Current activities

Richard is currently involved in the Marine Biodiversity Hub project ‘Supporting Management of Listed and Rare Species’, a collaboration between Charles Darwin University, Northern Territory Fisheries and CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research. He is based at CSIRO in Brisbane.

This project will improve the understanding and management of data-poor, low abundance, rarely-encountered threatened euryhaline and estuarine elasmobranch species, through the development of innovative population monitoring and integrated assessment strategies. Threatened sawfishes (Pristis species) and river sharks (Glyphis species) of northern Australia represent the focal species, with an initial focus on Freshwater Sawfish Pristis microdon in several selected rivers of the NT. Details of the project can be found at:

http://www.nerpmarine.edu.au/project/project-4-supporting-management-listed-and-rare-species

Background

Richard's research experience includes:

• Understanding long term movement patterns of fish and elasmobranchs using acoustic telemetry with emphasis on the effectiveness of spatial management. Currently involved in projects investigating the movement of turtles and dugongs in Moreton Bay Marine Park, Gladstone Harbour and movement and mortality estimates of Freshwater Sawfish in the Northern Territory and fish, sharks and crustaceans in the Logan and Albert River. 
• Marine Protected Area design and management with experience in the design and implementation of experiments that quantify the effectiveness of green zones on key recreational and commercial vertebrate and invertebrates.
• Systematics, identification and biology of temperate and tropical sharks and design and completion of semi-quantitative risk assessments for northern Australian and Indonesian elasmobranchs.
• Fishery-dependent and independent surveying/sampling of fish and invertebrates. Including considerable experience in conducting underwater visual census (UVC) of fish, elasmobranchs and invertebrates.
• Conservation and management of euryhaline elasmobranchs, with particular emphasis on habitat utilisation, migration and sexual segregation.
• Provision of written and oral scientific advice to Management Committees, Fisheries Managers, commercial and recreational fishermen, media and the public.

Academic qualifications

Bachelor of Science Majoring in Zoology and Ecology; Otago University, Dunedin, New Zealand

Bachelor of Science Honours (First class) from the University of Queensland

Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology; University of Queensland

Membership of key national committees