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Lead Scientist

Colette Wabnitz

Colette (she/her) is a passionate and driven interdisciplinary marine scientist seeking to understand how socio-ecological systems respond to change, and interested in co-creating strategies to optimize resilience that are equitable and sustainable. She draws on over 15 years of international experience focused broadly on managing biodiversity risk and achieving positive outcomes across the three pillars of sustainability: society, the economy and the environment. Her areas of practice include small-scale fisheries; climate change; food and nutritional security; ecosystem approaches to policy; illegal fisheries and forced labor; sustainable development; marine genetic resources; ocean finance; ecosystem modelling and equity with a particular focus on developing economies. In an effort to co-create pragmatic solutions to ocean challenges, Colette has worked in academia, inter-governmental and non-governmental organizations and engaged widely with local communities and the private sector.

Colette’s recent experience includes working as a research associate at the Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries at the University of British Columbia, and as a Fisheries Scientist for the Pacific Community (SPC). She has worked collaboratively with fisheries and ocean-related activities in a variety of settings, engaging stakeholders from a wide diversity of backgrounds in Canada, the Caribbean, Middle East, South Pacific and West Africa.

Colette holds a BSc in Biology and Environmental Sciences from McGill University, an MSc in Tropical Coastal Management from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and a PhD in Geography from the University of British Columbia.

Colette's published work is available on Google Scholar and Researchgate

Publications