Kevin is a tropical reef fish ecologist with over 25 years of experience. Following his early research in the Caribbean, Kevin’s work for the past 20 years has been focused in Melanesia and Micronesia where he has used his research findings to help local communities, government and non-government organizations identify workable solutions to overfishing and habitat destruction. Over the years, Kevin’s primary interest has been to document reef fish life history, specifically reproduction, age and growth, with an emphasis on seasonal and temporal patterns of fish spawning aggregations that can be used to develop market-based and area-based management.
His most recent involvement is to identify means to boost fisher’s socio-economic status through free-trade initiatives that include developing and marketing value-added fish-based products, with a focus on pelagic fish and a shift away from reef fishing to more sustainable pelagic fisheries. Through these efforts he provides scientific training and early vocational opportunities to local college students, and local government and NGO staff.
Kevin has been a specialist with the IUCN Groupers and Wrasses Specialist Group since 2007 and continues to evaluate anthropogenic and natural threats to reef fishes globally.