Dr Andrew Chin ~ Senior Research Fellow - Fisheries
Marine & Aquaculture Sciences
- About
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- Teaching
- Interests
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- Professional
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- I am interested in capacity building and collaborative learning with traditional communities in the Asia-Pacific, specifically in understanding and empowering communities in using Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Traditional Fisheries Management in mainstream natural resource management
- I use a collaborative, and consultative research to help people fish sustainably while maintaining environmental values
- I am mindful of the primacy of ethical approaches to fisheries science in the Global South
- I lead inter-disciplinary fisheries projects that consider different aspects of the socio-ecological system. These projects are collaborative and co-managed to ensure relevance to real-world problems, and legitimacy with the people and industries involved.
- Research
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- I work on foundational fisheries science such as the life history and ecology of target and bycatch species, and documenting fisheries patterns and trends. Specific research interests include:
- Solution focused and collaborative science to reduce fisheries bycatch
- The effects of climate change on sharks and rays, fish and fisheries
- Ecological roles of predators in marine ecosystems
- The contribution of marine protected areas to managing and conserving mobile marine predators
- Building sustainable and resilient coastal fisheries in the Asia-Pacific region
- State of the environment assessment and reporting
- The interactions between sharks and people, and ways to reduce the risks of unwanted shark encounters
- Teaching
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- Fisheries management and sustainability
- Conservation and management of the marine environment - specifically coastal and coral reef ecosystems
- Experience
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- 2016 to 2018 - Research fel,low AIMS@JCU, JCU & AIMS (Townsville, Australia)
- 2013 to 2015 - Research Fellow, James Cook University (Queensland, Australia)
- 2008 to 2013 - PhD Candidate, James Cook University (Queensland, Australia)
- 1998 to 2013 - Education officer, Reef HQ Aquarium (Queensland, Australia)
- 2010 to 2011 - Chief Investigator - consulting, Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (Townsville, New Caledonia, French Polynesia)
- 1998 to 2008 - Project Officer and Project Manager, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (Queensland, Australia)
- 1998 to 1999 - Intern, Australian Institute of Marine Science (Townsville, Australia)
- 1998 - Marine Biologist, Heron Island Resort (Queensland, Australia)
- Research Disciplines
- Socio-Economic Objectives
Dr Andrew was born and raised in southeast Asia where he became fascinated with fish and fisheries, especially sharks. After his family returned to Australia, Andrew pursued his passion for marine science and has been working in marine research since the 1990s, first in the marine ecotourism and education industry, and then ten years working at the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) on coral reef surveys, impact assessments and environmental monitoring. He also developed training and capacity building and Citizen Science programs such as the Eye on the Reef Program. While at the GBRMPA, Andrew was also the editor of the State of the Great Barrier Reef Report, a synthesis of the status, pressures, management and state of knowledge about the Great Barrier Reef. He is currently an editor for the journal Pacific Conservation Biology.
Since moving to James Cook University in 2008, Andrew's research has focused on coastal ecology and fisheries, particularly sharks and rays. He is especially interested in the life history and spatial ecology of coastal predators, inter-disciplinary fisheries and conservation research, and has keen interests in coastal fisheries in SE Asia and the Pacific. Andrew is involved in research on shark fisheries in Papua New Guinea, and also works in Indigenous Knowledge and community based coastal and fisheries management, such as with the Yuku Baja Muliku Traditional Owners in Cape York. He is currently working on a project with commercial fishers to trial new gear to reduce the bycatch of sharks in gillnets. In previous projects, Dr Andrew worked on satellite tagging hammerhead sharks, and the 'Shark Report Card" an assessment of Australia's sharks. He is one of the founders of the Oceania Chondrichthyan Society, a scientific society supporting research, management, and conservation of sharks and rays, and is a long term member of the IUCN Shark Specialist Group. Andrew also serves on the scientific advisory board of the Save Our Seas Foundation.
Andrew also has research interests in coral reefs and in the effects of climate change on coastal fisheries and sharks and rays, and risk assessment and synthesis approaches to inform policy development. In 2011, he wrote The status of coral reefs of the Pacific and Outlook 2011 which synthesised the status, current level of knowledge, and future outlook for the coral reefs of 22 Pacific Island nations. In Oct 2017, Andrew launched Shark Search Indo-Pacific, a new long term program to document the diversity and values of sharks and rays across the Indo-Pacific, and the threats they face across the region. Each country report builds the foundations for interdisciplinary community-based research and management projects to tackle these issues.
Andrew is also committed to teaching and outreach. He teaches fisheries subjects MB5610, MB5014/3014, and MB5620 at JCU, and runs intensive field-based coral reef ecology and marine park management courses for third year and postgraduate students. He works with the tourism industry Master Reef Guides, writes articles about marine research for mainstream media. From time to time, he takes (frozen) sharks and rays to surrounding high schools to help students understand the importance of fishing sustainably and of protecting marine habitats. This includes a long involvement with the ATSIMS program to encourage Indigenous school students to get involved with marine science.
- Honours
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- Awards
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- 2018 - Winner College of Science and Engineering 3MT competition [science communication]
- 2017 - Australian Coral Reef Society People's Choice award for the conference presentation "Do Marine Parks Save Sharks?"; established researcher category
- 2017 - Winner Early Career Researcher category and People's Choice category, 3MT competition
- 2015 to 2016 - Science Ambassador - Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders in Marine Science program
- 2015 - Queensland Young Tall Poppy Award for "outstanding achievement in scientific research and science communication"; Australian Institute of Policy and Science
- 2014 - Dean's Award for Research Higher Degree Excellence
- 2013 - Science Ambassador for the Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders in Marine Science (ATSIMS) Program 2013
- 2008 to 2013 - Conference awards from the Australian Coral Reef Society, Australian Society for Fish Biology, Australian National Network in Marine Science, Marine and Tropical Sciences Research Facility, and James Cook University
- 2007 - Commonwealth Medal for efforts in environmental impact assessment, environmental monitoring and promoting sustainable management of sharks and rays in the Great Barrier Reef
- Fellowships
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- 2004 - Churchill Fellowship, Conservation and management of coastal sharks and rays
- Memberships
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- 2010 to 2018 - Australian Society for Fish Biology
- 2007 to 2018 - IUCN Shark Specialist Group
- 2007 to 2018 - Founding member of the Oceania Chondrichthyan Society, current Vice President
- 1998 to 2017 - Australian Coral Reef Society
- 2010 to 2012 - Society for Conservation Biology
- Publications
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These are the most recent publications associated with this author. To see a detailed profile of all publications stored at JCU, visit ResearchOnline@JCU. Hover over Altmetrics badges to see social impact.
- Journal Articles
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- Clark-Shen N, Chin A, Arunrugstichai S, Labaja J, Mizrahi M, Simeon B and Hutchinson N (2023) Status of Southeast Asia's marine sharks and rays. Conservation Biology, 37 (1).
- Mitchell J, Drymon J, Vardon J, Coulson P, Simpfendorfer C, Scyphers S, Kajiura S, Hoel K, Williams S, Ryan K, Barnett A, Heupel M, Chin A, Navarro M, Langlois T, Ajemian M, Gilman E, Prasky E and Jackson G (2023) Shark depredation: future directions in research and management. Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries, 33. pp. 475-499
- Baje L, Chin A, White W and Simpfendorfer C (2022) Dietary overlap of carcharhinid sharks in the Gulf of Papua. Marine and Freshwater Research, 73 (5). pp. 605-614
- Barnett A, Fitzpatrick R, Bradley M, Miller I, Sheaves M, Chin A, Smith B, Diedrich A, Yick J, Lubitz N, Crook K, Mattone C, Bennett M, Wojtach L and Abrantes K (2022) Scientific response to a cluster of shark bites. People and Nature, 4 (4). pp. 963-982
- Chin A, Molloy F, Cameron D, Day J, Cramp J, Gerhardt K, Heupel M, Read M and Simpfendorfer C (2022) Conceptual frameworks and key questions for assessing the contribution of marine protected areas to shark and ray conservation. Conservation Biology, 37 (1).
- D'Alberto B, White W, Chin A, Dharmadi and Simpfendorfer C (2022) Untangling the Indonesian tangle net fishery: Describing a data-poor fishery targeting large, threatened rays (Superorder Batoidea). Aquatic Conservation: marine and freshwater ecosystems, 32 (2). pp. 366-384
- Hari K, Jaiteh V and Chin A (2022) The sharks and rays of Palau: Biological diversity, status, and social and cultural dimensions. Pacific Conservation Biology, 28 (5). pp. 398-413
- Hoel K, Chin A and Lau J (2022) Clashing conservation values: The social complexities of shark depredation. Biological Conservation, 272.
- Martins A, Matley J, Heupel M, Fisk A, Chin A and Simpfendorfer C (2022) Trophic ecology of sympatric juvenile stingrays within a nursery area. Marine and Freshwater Research, 73 (5). pp. 676-686
- Meyer L, Barry C, Araujo G, Barnett A, Brunnschweiler J, Chin A, Gallagher A, Healy T, Kock A, Newsome D, Ponzo A and Huveneers C (2022) Redefining provisioning in marine wildlife tourism. Journal of Ecotourism, 21 (3). pp. 210-229
- Baje L, Chin A, White W and Simpfendorfer C (2021) Ecological risk assessment of elasmobranchs caught in the Gulf of Papua prawn fishery. Aquatic Conservation: marine and freshwater ecosystems, 31 (11). pp. 3100-3110
- Grant M, White W, Amepou Y, Appleyard S, Baje L, Devloo-Delva F, Fuetry P, Ibana D, Jogo D, Jogo S, Kyne P, Mana R, Mapmani N, Nagul A, Roeger D, Simpfendorfer C and Chin A (2021) Papua New Guinea: a potential refuge for threatened Indo–Pacific river sharks and sawfishes. Frontiers in Conservation Science, 2.
- More
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ResearchOnline@JCU stores 81+ research outputs authored by Dr Andrew Chin from 2003 onwards.
- Current Funding
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Current and recent Research Funding to JCU is shown by funding source and project.
Save Our Seas Foundation - Small Grant
Underwater drones can shine a light on the night-time side of shark science
- Indicative Funding
- $14,909 over 1 year
- Summary
- Elasmobranch species face an unprecedented conservation crisis, and informative research is still missing for many species. Elasmobranchs are active during the night, but diving operations are limited by safety concerns and there are only a few night-time studies available. For this reason, the knowledge of elasmobranch species is not representative and biased by day-time surveys. To overcome the safety limitations of divers' surveys at night, this project will systematically test the use of remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) as a method to perform underwater surveys, specifically targeting elasmobranchs at night.
- Investigators
- Martina Lonati, Andrew Chin and Stacy Bierwagen (College of Science & Engineering and Research Division)
- Keywords
- ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicles); Nocturnal; Elasmobranchs; Temporal; Survey; Reef-associated
PADI Foundation - Research Grant
PADI Aware global citizen science shark monitoring program.
- Indicative Funding
- $65,264 over 2 years
- Summary
- The Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) is the world's largest certifying agency for recreational SCUBA divers, certifying an estimated 1 million divers every year. The PADI Aware Foundation runs PADIS environmental program and has a specific interest in shark conservation. Under this Agreement, Andrew Chin will provide specialist advice and technical support to (1) redevelop the PADI Shark diver specialty course; and (2) help design and launch a new Global shark sightings citizen science program.
- Investigators
- Andrew Chin in collaboration with Ian Campbell (College of Science & Engineering and PADI Foundation)
- Keywords
- Shark; Scuba Diving; Conservation; Citizen Science; Stingray; Marine megafauna
Save Our Seas Foundation - Grant
Conserving riverine elasmobranchs in Borneo, focusing on threatened river sharks (Glyphis sp.)
- Indicative Funding
- $128,652 over 3 years
- Summary
- By 2050 the capital of Indonesia will be relocated to East Kalimantan, Borneo, increasing human population density and pressures on Borneo?s river environments through small-scale fishing and commercial developments. In March 2020, we obtained evidence of what is likely an undescribed Glyphis species persisting in southern Borneo. Additionally, there are four poorly known endangered ray species in freshwaters of Borneo?s rivers. In collaboration with Hasanuddin University, this projects aims to survey major river systems in East, North, and West Kalimantan to locate and taxonomically describe the southern Borneo Glyphis species, and fill knowledge gaps on the distribution and status of Borneo?s freshwater rays.
- Investigators
- Andrew Chin, Naomi Gardiner and Michael Grant in collaboration with Benaya Simeon, William White and Jamaludin Jompa (College of Science & Engineering, Wildlife Conservation Society-Indonesia Program, Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organisation and Hasanuddin University)
- Keywords
- River sharks; Conservation; Riverine; Fisheries; Borneo; Livelihoods; Glyphis sp., Carcharhinidae
Shark Conservation Fund - Small Grant
Southeast Asian shark and ray research and conservation capacity building workshop 2019
- Indicative Funding
- $41,411 over 5 years
- Summary
- Capacity building workshop for South East Asian shark and ray researchers, NGOs, academics, fisheries officers and government agencies. The project will bring together participant from Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines for a workshop at JCU-Singapore in shark field research techniques, analysis of movement data and fisheries risk assessment.
- Investigators
- Andrew Chin and Neil Hutchinson in collaboration with Vinay Udawyer (College of Science & Engineering and Australian Institute of Marine Science)
- Keywords
- capacity building; Fisheries; Shark; Marine Parks; Management; conservaton
Synchronicity Earth - Small Grant
SEA shark conservation and management workshop
- Indicative Funding
- $11,673
- Summary
- JCUA and JCUS are running a capacity building workshop at JCU Singapore from 25 to 29 September 2023 for delegates across SE Asia in shark research and conservation. This funding provides additional funds to support travel for delegates to attend the event.
- Investigators
- Andrew Chin and Neil Hutchinson (College of Science & Engineering and Corporate P&L)
- Keywords
- Capacity building; Conservation; Stingrays; Southeast Asia; Shark; Fisheries
Save Our Seas Foundation - Small Grant
SEA shark conservation and management workshop (TOP UP FUNDING #2)
- Indicative Funding
- $7,602
- Summary
- JCUA and JCUS are running a capacity building workshop at JCU Singapore from 25 to 29 September 2023 for delegates across SE Asia in shark research and conservation. Unfortunately, costs have increased significantly post COVID, and these increases exceed the original budget. This funding from the Save Our Seas Foundation provides additional funds to support travel for delegates to attend the event.
- Investigators
- Andrew Chin and Neil Hutchinson (College of Science & Engineering and Corporate P&L)
- Keywords
- Capacity building; Conservation; Stingrays; Southeast Asia; Shark; Fisheries
Save Our Seas Foundation - Grant
Rewriting the sawfish story: Inspiring community driven conservation of sawfishes in Papua New Guinea.
- Indicative Funding
- $13,587 over 1 year
- Summary
- Recent surveys in Papua New Guinea (PNG) have identified the region as a global refuge for one of the most threatened elasmobranch families, sawfish (Pristidae). Unfortunately, the same surveys also indicated negative population trends with incidentally caught sawfish being retained for consumption and sale, or killed and discarded by small-scale fishers. Communities in PNG share rich traditional land and water ownership values, and legislative protection is unlikely to manifest any changes in attitudes without additional community driven education and conservation effort. Distribution of educational materials provide an effective and alternative method for initiating community driven conservation of sawfish in PNG.
- Investigators
- Michael Grant and Andrew Chin in collaboration with Madeline Green (College of Science & Engineering and University of Tasmania)
- Keywords
- Conservation; Sawfish; Biodiversity; Riverine; Fisheries; Coastal
QLD Department of Agriculture and Fisheries - Contract Research
Scientific advice underpinning shark smart messaging ? Phase 1
- Indicative Funding
- $11,665 over 1 year
- Summary
- Examine and synthesise the scientific evidence underpinning Shark Smart messages to advise QLD DAF and communities about the scientific voracity surrounding safety advice and community claims. This is the first phase of a larger project. Funding for Phase 2 will depend on the outcomes of Phase 1.
- Investigators
- Andrew Chin in collaboration with Michael Joyce and Kristen Hoel (College of Science & Engineering)
- Keywords
- Shark; Safety; Risk; Evidence; Attack
QLD Department of Agriculture and Fisheries - Grant
Survey of users of Cid Harbour regarding shark smart behaviours
- Indicative Funding
- $40,492 over 1 year (administered by BioPixel Oceans Foundation Limited)
- Summary
- Project will conduct surveys of tourists and recreational users in Airlie Beach to examine their activities and behaviours, knowledge and awareness of 'shark smart' behaviours. Surveys will also examine local and tourism industry knowledge and preceptions about the history of use and behaviour of tourists and recreational users in the Whitsundays. This project is a rapid response project that has arisen directly from community and industry concerns about recent shark incidents in the Whitsundays. The project team will work closely with the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, tourism industry representatives, and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, and the Local Marine Advisory Committee. JCU is operating under a subcontract from BioPixel Oceans Foundation Limited which won the tender in mid-December 2018.
- Investigators
- Amy Diedrich and Andrew Chin (College of Science & Engineering)
- Keywords
- Tourism; Safety; Shark; attack
Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission - Contract Research
Operational Planning for Shark Biological Data Improvement Terms of Reference
- Indicative Funding
- $40,450 over 1 year
- Summary
- The objective of this study is to compile, review and prioritise a list of biological data gaps for the WCPFC key shark species and propose a practical plan for filling them
- Investigators
- Colin Simpfendorfer and Andrew Chin (College of Science & Engineering)
- Keywords
- Shark; Life History; research planning
Department of the Environment and Energy - National Environmental Research Program - Marine Biodiversity Hub
Exploring the status of Australia's hammerhead sharks
- Indicative Funding
- $64,709 over 5 years (administered by Australian Institute of Marine Science)
- Summary
- Hammerhead sharks are the focus of conservation management through recent listing on CITES and CMS. However, the state of knowledge of hammerhead sharks in Australia requires exploration. Data on hammerhead interactions with fisheries, life history and ecology will be gathered to address this need. Collected data will be used to construct a series of conceptual models of population structure of hammerhead sharks in Australia. This analysis will refine the status of these speciews and identify re3quired research or management. This project precedes targeted research to provide information required for effective management of these populations.
- Investigators
- Colin Simpfendorfer and Andrew Chin in collaboration with Michelle Heupel and William White (Australian Institute of Marine Science, Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organisation and College of Science & Engineering)
- Keywords
- Fisheries Management; hammerhead sharks; status assessment
Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research - Research Grant
Sustainable management of the shark resources of Papua New Guinea: socioeconomic and biological characteristics of the fishery
- Indicative Funding
- $161,192 over 6 years (administered by Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organisation)
- Summary
- The shark fishery in PNG is the country's5th most important export fishery worth about K8 million annually. Sharks are also important to the artisanal fishery and are a potential resource for ecotourism. It is also highly likely that the shark resources of PNG are shared with neighbouring countries, e.g. Australia, Indonesia, and adjacent South Pacific island nations such as the Solomon Islands. Sharks and rays are particularly vulnerable to over-exploitation due to their life history characteristics, and declines can affect livelihoods of communities. The PNG National Fisheries Authority (NFA) has identified a need to improve fisheries management, underpinned by an assessment of the shark and ray fisheries.
- Investigators
- William White, Ludwig Kumoru, Colin Simpfendorfer, Sharon Appleyard and Andrew Chin in collaboration with Jonathan Smart (Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organisation, National Fisheries Authority, Papua New Guinea and College of Science & Engineering)
- Keywords
- Shark; Ray; Papua New Guinea; Fishery; Management; Conservation
- Supervision
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Advisory Accreditation: I can be on your Advisory Panel as a Primary or Secondary Advisor.
These Higher Degree Research projects are either current or by students who have completed their studies within the past 5 years at JCU. Linked titles show theses available within ResearchOnline@JCU.
- Current
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- Sharks and rays in time: the importance of temporal scales in the approaches used to investigate species (Masters , Secondary Advisor)
- Sharks & Culture: Exploring Culture to Bridge the Gap between Conservation and Livelihoods (Masters , Secondary Advisor)
- Life history, ecology and fisheries impact on Carcharhinus sealei and Carcharhinus tjutjot: implications for conservation and management (PhD , Secondary Advisor)
- Completed
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- Functional roles of reef sharks on the Great Barrier Reef (2020, PhD , Secondary Advisor)
- The biology and ecology of Carcharhiniform sharks in the Gulf of Papua prawn trawl fishery (2020, PhD , Secondary Advisor)
- Refining the ecological role of stingrays in coral reef ecosystems (2019, PhD , Secondary Advisor)
- Ecology of rays on tropical coral reefs (2020, PhD , Secondary Advisor)
- Diving into the deep-end: investigating tropical deep-reef fish assemblages (2019, PhD , Secondary Advisor)
- Conservation biology of wedgefishes (Family Rhinidae) and giant guitarfishes (Family Glaucostegidae) (2022, PhD , Secondary Advisor)
- Conservation of non-marine elasmobranchs (2022, PhD , Primary Advisor)
- Data
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These are the most recent metadata records associated with this researcher. To see a detailed description of all dataset records, visit Research Data Australia.
- Martins, A. (2020) Tidal-diel patterns of movement, activity and habitat use by juvenile mangrove whiprays using towed-float GPS telemetry. James Cook University
- Martins, A. (2020) Diurnal activity patterns and habitat use of juvenile Pastinachus ater in a coral reef flat environment. James Cook University
- Collaboration
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The map shows research collaborations by institution from the past 7 years.
Note: Map points are indicative of the countries or states that institutions are associated with.- 5+ collaborations
- 4 collaborations
- 3 collaborations
- 2 collaborations
- 1 collaboration
- Indicates the Tropics (Torrid Zone)
Connect with me
- Phone
- Location
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- 34.140, Earth & Environmental Sciences (Townsville campus)
- Advisory Accreditation
- Primary Advanced Advisor
- Find me on…
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My research areas
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