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Indian Ocean Tuna Commission
Indian Ocean Tuna Commission
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  • Structure of the Commission
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Secretariat staff

Executive

Christopher O’Brien

Executive Secretary
chris.obrien@fao.org
Dr Chris O’Brien joined the IOTC Secretariat as Executive Secretary in July 2017. Chris has a wide range of experience working in national and international fisheries, including the role of Deputy Secretary-Science Manager at the IOTC Secretariat between 2004 and 2009. Prior to re-joining the Secretariat, he led the Bay of Bengal Large Marine Ecosystem Project, a major fisheries management development initiative working in the eight Bay of Bengal countries; and the global Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction Deep Sea Fisheries Project. Chris has a first class honors degree and a doctorate in marine sciences from the University of New South Wales, Australia.

Science

Paul de Bruyn

Science Manager
paul.debruyn@fao.org
Dr Paul de Bruyn joined the IOTC secretariat in June 2018 as the Science Manager. Paul started his career assessing small-scale inshore fisheries in Southern Africa before moving to Europe and getting involved in Tuna and Tuna-like species stock assessments at both IOTC and ICCAT. Paul joins the IOTC from the ICCAT secretariat where for the past 6 years, he has been employed as the By-catch Coordinator and later head of the Department of Research and Statistics. His duties at the secretariat include leading and supervising the scientific work of the IOTC Secretariat and providing guidance and technical support to the IOTC science staff, planning and providing oversight for research programmes approved by the Commission and providing support to Chair of the Scientific Committee in the development and implementation of a Strategic Plan for the Scientific Committee. Paul holds a Doctorate in Marine Science with a focus on stock assessment and management strategy evaluation and brings experience related to Tuna RFMO secretariat procedures and service provision.

Dan Fu

Fisheries Officer (Stock Assessment Expert)
dan.fu@fao.org
Dan joined IOTC Secretariat in November 2016. Prior to joining IOTC, Dan has worked for 11 years as a Fishery Modeller in the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research of New Zealand (NIWA). Before that Dan worked as a Programmer Analyst for two years in Jade Software Corporations. Dan has ample experience in various aspects of fishery data analysis and modelling including standardization of CPUE, catch sampling analysis, and stock assessments. He has expertise in developing both age-and-length-structured models and has been responsible for a number of finfish and shellfish stock assessments in New Zealand EEZ, as well as population modelling of marine mammals and seabirds. More recent work includes developing a generic tool to evaluate harvest control rules for New Zealand orange roughy fisheries and to evaluate the fishery risk to the population viability of southern Buller’s albatross at Snares Islands. Dan has also been actively involved in developing analytic tools and software packages used for fishery survey and catch sampling analysis, population modelling and assessment. Dan completed a master in Statistics from the University of Auckland, New Zealand.

Lauren Nelson

Fisheries Officer
lauren.nelson@fao.org
Lauren Nelson joined the IOTC Secretariat in May 2020 as a Fisheries Science Officer. Lauren has a Masters in Aquatic Resource Management from King’s College London. Her thesis studied the effect of closed areas in the Indian Ocean on tuna fisheries. After completing her Masters she joined the fisheries consultancy MRAG where she worked on a range of projects all over the world including many projects for the EU’s DG-MARE examining the effectiveness of fisheries legislation in Europe. She also worked on several Fisheries Improvement Projects (FIP) for EU Tuna fisheries operating in the Indian, Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, carrying out preliminary and developing plans of action for the FIPs. After 4 years at MRAG she moved to the NGO Blue Marine Foundation where she focused on projects bringing models of sustainable fishing to small-scale fisheries around the coast of the UK as well as working on the implementation of new marine protected areas both in the UK and further afield.

Compliance

Gerard Domingue

Senior Fishery Officer (Compliance Manager)
gerard.domingue@fao.org
Gerard joined the IOTC Secretariat in June 2008 as the Compliance Coordinator and head of the Compliance Section. In May 2020 he formally took on the position of Compliance Manager. In addition to overseeing the smooth functioning of the Compliance Section, he is also tasked with working closely with the Members and Co-operating non-Contracting Parties of the Commission, to ensure the highest possible level of compliance with conservation and management measures adopted by the Commission.  Before joining the IOTC Secretariat, Gerard spent almost twenty years in the Seychelles civil service where he worked in the fields of fisheries research and management of marine living resources.  In this capacity he represented the Government of Seychelles in various fisheries meetings and conferences, as well as in negotiations over access agreement for fishing rights in Seychelles’ waters.

Florian Giroux

Fisheries Officer (Compliance)
Florian.Giroux@fao.org
Florian Giroux is Compliance Officer at the IOTC secretariat. He joined the IOTC Secretariat in April 2012 as new professional staff of the Compliance Section. Florian earned his Master in Exploitation of Coastal Living Resources and Aquaculture in France. Before joining the IOTC Secretariat, Florian started his overseas experience in 1998 in Southern Africa and the Indian Ocean where he serves the Fisheries Administration of several countries in the field of fisheries management and monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS) of fishing activities. Within the Compliance section, he is tasked with working closely with the Members and Co-operating non-Contracting Parties of the Commission, to ensure the highest possible level of compliance with conservation and management measures adopted by the Commission.

Cynthia Fernandez Diaz

Fisheries Officer
Cynthia.FernandezDiaz@fao.org
Cynthia Fernandez Diaz joined the IOTC Secretariat in January of 2019 as Fisheries Officer of the Compliance Section. Since 2000 she worked on different projects related to the conservation and management of natural resources in Patagonia Argentina giving consulting and technical assistance on artisanal and sport fisheries for CENPAT- CONICET projects. Cynthia also participated in a project of the Pew Environment Group-The Pew Charitable Trusts to know the situation of Antarctic krill fisheries and she has coordinated the edition of the book "State of Conservation Patagonian Sea "for the Forum for the Conservation of the Patagonian Sea which include a review of fishing activity and the state of the principal exploited species. Cynthia continued his training in the field of sustainability and distribution of coastal-marine resources through distribution models’ and geographic information systems (GIS) tools holding a Master in Management of Sustainable Development (Universidad de Vigo, Spain) and a Master in Professional Geographic Information Systems and Spatial Analysis (Universitat de Girona, Spain). Before joining the IOTC Secretariat she worked as an independent consultant on projects of evaluation systems for fisheries sustainability (MSC assessments and Fishery Improvement Projects) in EU and Latin America. As GIS consultant she was working on a Standardized System for Outlining Aquaculture Management Areas and in the European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODnet).

Data

Fabio Fiorellato

Fisheries Officer (Data Coordinator)
fabio.fiorellato@fao.org
Fabio Fiorellato joined the IOTC Secretariat in March 2016 as Data Coordinator. With over 16 years of experience as software engineer and data manager both in the private and in the non-governmental sector (including six years of experience within the Fisheries and Aquaculture Department of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN) he actively participated in the design and implementation of multiple IT projects focused on fishery data collection, management and exchange both at national and regional level, including the ABNJ / Common Oceans-funded CLAV initiative (Consolidated List of Authorized Vessels). His duties at IOTC include the coordination of the collation, provision and exchange of key data and information pertaining to the Commission, such as - among others - data related to the list of authorized vessels, (presumed) IUU activities, trade information schemes and all mandatory data regularly required for submission by member countries. He is also in charge of verifying the quality and correctness of the submitted data, prepare the data sets required for use by the IOTC Scientific Committee and its Working Parties and contribute to the dissemination of information on data-related Commission activities.

Lucia Pierre

Data Management Assistant
lucia.pierre@iotc.org
Ms. Lucia Pierre, the Data Management Assistant, joined the IOTC in 2004. Before joining the IOTC she was an employee of the Seychelles Ministry of Agriculture. Her career with natural resources statistics started in 2000 after completing a degree in Agricultural Economics at the University of Reading, UK.

Administration

Howard Whalley

Administrative Officer
howard.whalley@fao.org
Howard joined the IOTC in November 2016. He has over 20 years’ experience in the United Nations working in various administrative capacities including facility management, contract management, shipping and travel. He has an academic background in Business Administration with a focus on the implementation and control of facility management contracts. He joined the IOTC from FAO Mozambique where he was the Operations Officer for a large EU funded project aimed at accelerating the progress of the UN’s Millennium Development Goals. During his time in Mozambique he helped to set up various offices and manage the administration, operations and logistics of the project. Howard will now use his experience to manage the administrative functions of the Secretariat with a focus on facilitating the work of other colleagues to help them reach their objectives in an effective and efficient manner.

Francis Kilindo

IT Consultant
francis.kilindo@fao.org
Mr Francis Kilindo has a City & Guilds qualification in Electrical and Electronics in addition to certifications in network, security and Microsoft technologies. He has more than 10 years of related experience working with Information Technology and systems. His experience includes periods as an IT Technician with C&W Seychelles, Incipe and VCS as well as 7 years working for Seychelles Land Transport Agency. Francis started with IOTC in May 2018.

Mirose Govinden

Bilingual Secretary
mirose.govinden@fao.org
Mirose Govinden is the Secretariat’s Bilingual Secretary. Prior to joining IOTC she worked for 11 years as a social worker in Seychelles’ Ministry of Social Affairs.

Rosemary Anacoura

Administrative Assistant
rose-marie.dodin@fao.org
Mrs Rosemary Anacoura, joined the Secretariat in August 1998 as the Bilingual Secretary and moved to the position of Administrative Assistant in April 2004.

Chloe L’estrange

Receptionist/Driver
Chloe L’estrange joined IOTC secretariat in August 1998 as a Receptionist and Driver. Before joining the IOTC Secretariat, she worked for fifteen years in the Post-Office, as assistant clerk.

Claudette Matombe

Office Assistant
Claudette.Matombe@fao.org
Ms Claudette Matombe joined IOTC as an Office Assistant on the 06th January 2020. Prior to joining IOTC she followed Reception operation courses at the Seychelles Tourism Academy and worked for 9 years with one of the largest hotel chain in the Indian Ocean, the Constance Group.

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