My research focuses on the intersection between conservation and food security, with a particular focus on small-scale fisheries, which account for 90% of all fishers and 40% of global fisheries yields. While my background is in coral reef science, I also work on marine governance, human rights, co-management, conservation planning, and impact evaluation.

I am currently a lecturer at James Cook University, jointly funded by the internaitonal NGOs Wildlife Conservation Society and WorldFish. In this capacity, I am working to reframe the conservation practice of large international NGOs to embrace alternate values of nature, including shifting the unit of conservation towards the social-ecological system, rather than solely prioritizing biodiversity. We are currently developing assessment criteria to integrate a human rights-based approach into marine conservation, and assessing whether the policies and practices of international conservation NGOs support and promote human rights of small-scale fishers.

Prior to my current position, I worked with WorldFish to examine the resilience of small-scale fisheries co-management in Solomon Islands and Bangladesh. From 2016 – 2019 I completed my PhD while being based in the Kingdom of Tonga, where I collaborated with the Tongan Government to inform the design and implementation of a national coral reef monitoring program. This collaboration involved impact evaluations for a network of 50 locally-managed marine protected areas and baseline data collected for 350 coral reefs. Additionally, I have led two research expeditions to the Hunga-Tonga Hunga-Ha’apai volcano to examine reef resilience and recovery following its eruption. 

Teaching

• MB3014: Managing Tropical Fisheries (Level 3; TSV)
• MB5014: Managing Tropical Fisheries (Level 5; TSV)

Interests

Professional

• Human rights and conservation. Understanding the legal and ethical obligations, and practical benefits, for why marine conservation should support human rights.
• Ethical practice of marine conservation organizations. Developing inclusive models of conservation that support Indigenous peoples, foster flourishing communities, regenerative fisheries, and resilient ecosystems.

Research

• Inclusive governance of small-scale fisheries, including co-management, community-based marine management, and locally managed marine areas.
• Impact framing and conservation planning. Counterfactual analysis, ecological and socioeconomic monitoring and evaluation.
• Coral reef ecology. Using underwater visual surveys and experiments to address ecological questions on coral reefs.

Experience

• 2023 to present - Lecturer, James Cook University (Townsville, Australia)
• 2022 - Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Wildlife Conservation Society; WorldFish (New York, USA)
• 2020 to 2021 - Postdoctoral Research Fellow, WorldFish (Penang, Malaysia)

Research Disciplines

• Environmental management (4104)
• Ecology (3103)
• Fisheries sciences (3005)

Socio-Economic Objectives

• Marine systems and management (1805)

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

• Bergseth B, Arias A, Barnes M, Caldwell I, Datta A, Gelcich S, Ham S, Lau J, Ruano-Chamorro C, Smallhorn-West P, Weekers D, Zamborain-Mason J and Cinner J (2023) Closing the compliance gap in marine protected areas with human behavioural sciences. Fish and Fisheries, 24. pp. 695-704
• Goldsworthy N, Srinivasan M, Smallhorn-West P, Cheah L, Munday P and Jones G (2022) Life-history constraints, short adult life span and reproductive strategies in coral reef gobies of the genus Trimma. Journal of Fish Biology, 101 (4). pp. 996-1007
• Smallhorn-West P, Cohen P, Phillips M, Jupiter S, Govan H and Pressey R (2022) Linking small-scale fisheries co-management to UN Sustainable Development Goals. Conservation Biology, 36 (6).
• Smallhorn-West P and Pressey R (2022) Why does conservation minimize opportunity costs? Conservation Science and Practice, 4 (11).
• Smallhorn-West P, Cohen P, Kukiti E, Rabbitt S, Rikio A, Sori F, Tapala S, Warren R, Boso D and Foale S (2022) Ten years of dynamic co-management of a multi-species reef fishery. Coral Reefs, 41. pp. 1449-1464
• Smallhorn-West P, van der Ploeg J, Boso D, Sukulu M, Leamae J, Isihanua M, Jasper M, Saeni-Oeta J, Batalofo M, Orirana G, Konamalefo A, Houma J and Eriksson H (2022) Patterns of catch and trophic signatures illustrate diverse management requirements of coastal fisheries in Solomon Islands. Ambio, 51 (6). pp. 1504-1519
• Smallhorn-West P, Cohen P, Morais R, Januchowski-Hartley F, Ceccarelli D, Malimali S, Stone K, Warren R and Cinner J (2022) Hidden benefits and risks of partial protection for coral reef fisheries. Ecology and Society, 27 (1).
• Bongaerts P, Cooke I, Ying H, Wels D, den Haan S, Hernandez-Agreda A, Brunner C, Dove S, Englebert N, Eyal G, Foret S, Grinblat M, Hay K, Harii S, Hayward D, Lin Y, Morana M, Moya A, Muir P, Sinniger F, Smallhorn-West P, Torda G, Ragan M, van Oppen M and Hoegh-Guldberg O (2021) Morphological stasis masks ecologically divergent coral species on tropical reefs. Current Biology, 31 (11). pp. 2286-2298.e8
• Gordon S, Wingfield M, Smallhorn-West P, Malimali S, Halafihi T, Schoeman D and Southgate P (2021) Spatio-Temporal Variation in Growth Performance and Condition of the Winged Pearl Oyster Pteria penguin. Frontiers in Marine Science, 8.
• Morais Araujo R, Siqueira Correa A, Smallhorn-West P and Bellwood D (2021) Spatial subsidies drive sweet spots of tropical marine biomass production. PLoS Biology, 19 (11).
• Smallhorn-West P, Gordon S, Dempsey A, Purkis S, Malimali S, Halafihi T, Southgate P, Bridge T, Pressey R and Jones G (2021) Tongan socio-environmental spatial layers for marine ecosystem management. Pacific Conservation Biology, 27 (1). pp. 86-92
• Smallhorn-West P, Gordon S, Stone K, Ceccarelli D, Malimali S, Halafihi T, Wyatt M, Bridge T, Pressey R and Jones G (2020) Biophysical and anthropogenic influences on the status of Tonga's coral reefs and reef fish fishery. PLoS One, 15 (11).

More

ResearchOnline@JCU stores 21+ research outputs authored by Dr Patrick Smallhorn-West from 2017 onwards.

Current and recent Research Funding to JCU is shown by funding source and project.

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

• The Cave dwellers Distribution, abundance, ecological partitioning and social organisation of the genus Trimma on coral ereefs (PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• Regional and Local Variation in Fish Assemblages and Demography: A Seascape Perspective (PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• Political economy of youth-led food system transformations (PhD , Secondary Advisor)

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.