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.

Contact

cwabnitz@stanford.edu

Publications

Lincoln, S., & al., et. (2022). Climate change impacts on the coral reefs of the UK Overseas Territory of the Pitcairn Islands: resilience and adaptation considerations. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/doi:10.1017/S002531542200090X
Ouchi, S., & al., et. (2022). Opposing trends in fisheries portfolio diversity at harvester and community scales signal opportunities for adaptation. Facets Journal. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1139/facets-2022-0048
Hicks, C., Gephart, J., Koehn, J., & et al, . (2022). Rights and representation support justice across aquatic food systems. Nature Food. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-022-00618-4
Pereira, L., & et al, . (2022, September 30). The living infinite. Vector. https://vector-bsfa.com/2022/09/30/the-living-infinite/
Blasiak, R., Jouffray, J., Amon, D., & et. al, . (2022). A forgotten element of the blue economy: marine biomimetics and inspiration from the deep sea . PNAS Nexus, 1(4), 196. https://doi.org/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgac196
Tigchelaar, M., & et al, . (2022). The vital roles of blue foods in the global food system. Global Food Security, 33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gfs.2022.100637
Selig, E., & et al, . (2022). Revealing global risks of labor abuse and illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing. Nature Communications, 13, 1612. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-28916-2
Österblom, H., & et al, . (2022). Scientific mobilization of keystone actors for biosphere stewardship. Scientific reports, 12(1), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-07023-8
Andrachuk, M., & et al, . (2022). Coral reef governance: strengthening community and collaborative approaches. A Vibrant Oceans Initiative Whitepaper .
Wabnitz, C., & et al, . (2021). Gender dynamics of ocean risk and resilience in SIDS and coastal LDCs. https://www.globalresiliencepartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/orraa-gender-and-ocean-risk.pdf
Tigchelaar, M., & et al, . (2021). Compound climate risks threaten aquatic food system benefits. Nature Food, 2(9), 673-682. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-021-00368-9
Short, R., & et al, . (2021). Harnessing the diversity of small-scale actors is key to the future of aquatic food systems. Nature Food, 2, 733-741. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-021-00363-0
Clarke, T., & et al, . (2021). Aerobic growth index (AGI): An index to understand the impacts of ocean warming and deoxygenation on global marine fisheries resources. Progress in Oceanography, 195. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2021.102588
Blasiak, R., & et al, . (2021). Evolving perspectives of stewardship in the seafood industry. Frontiers in Marine Science, 8. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.671837
Spijkers, J., & et al, . (2021). Identifying predictors of international fisheries conflict. Fish and Fisheries, 22(4), 834-850. https://doi.org/10.1111/faf.12554
Leape, J., & et al, . (2021). The vital roles of blue foods in the global food system. Center for Development Research (ZEF) in cooperation with the Scientific Group for the UN Food System Summit 2021. https://doi.org/10.48565/scfss2021-bg71
Spijkers, J., & et al, . (2021). Exploring the future of fishery conflict through narrative scenarios. One Earth, 4(3), 386-396. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2021.02.004
Eyzaguirre, J., Morton, C., Wabnitz, C., Copage, M., & McLeman, R. (2021). International Dimensions. Chapter 9 in Canada in a Changing Climate: National Issues Report. https://changingclimate.ca/national-issues/chapter/9-0/
Clarke, T., & et al, . (2020). Climate change impacts on living marine resources in the Eastern Tropical Pacific. Diversity and Distributions, 27(1), 65-81. https://doi.org/10.1111/ddi.13181
Brown, C., Taylor, W., Wabnitz, C., & Connolly, R. (2020). Dependency of Queensland and the Great Barrier Reef’s tropical fisheries on reef-associated fish. Scientific Reports, 10(1), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-74652-2