Team

Dr Andrew Chin is a fisheries scientist whose work focuses on shark and ray biology and ecology, and how the information from this research can be translated into conservation and sustainability. Specifically, Andrew is interested in how fishes use coastal and marine habitats and how patterns of use affect their vulnerability to pressures such as fishing, habitat loss and climate change. His recent research spans the life history and biology of sharks by means of tagging and acoustic telemetry, as well as risk assessment. As an applied scientist, Andrew is also very interested in how fishes, sharks and rays interact with people and how their populations can be managed, as well as in impacts on their populations.

Andrew grew up in South-East Asia but currently lives in Queensland, Australia, where he received his PhD from James Cook University. He has a diverse marine background, having worked as a marine biologist in the tourism industry and as an education officer in a public aquarium. He also spent 10 years working at the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, the Australian federal agency charged with protecting the Great Barrier Reef. In 2017, Andrew launched SharkSearch Indo-Pacific, an effort that blends formal research, citizen science and public outreach, and aims to develop a scientifically robust shark diversity checklist and conservation account for every country and territory in the Pacific by 2022. He is also one of the founders of the Oceania Chondrichthyan Society and a member of the IUCN Shark Specialist Group.