Francis Neat

Professor, Nippon Foundation Chair; Head of Ocean Sustainability, Governance and Management
World Maritime University

Professor Neat joined WMU 2019 where he is currently Head of Specialization for Ocean Sustainability, Governance and Management in WMU’s Masters in Maritime Affairs. From Scotland, he has a broad research background in freshwater and marine ecosystems and management. He received his PhD from Glasgow University and undertook post-doctoral work in Italy, Austria and the US. For many years he was a principal researcher at the Scottish Government’s Marine Laboratory. Before joining WMU, he was Head of Strategic Research at the Marine Stewardship Council.

His past research focused on deep water marine ecosystems, the migration of fish and the impacts of fishing on the marine environment. His research has been applied to fisheries management and marine policy development, including the implementation of a network of Marine Protected Areas and the EU policy on deep-water fishing regulations. He has a particular interest in the marine ecosystems, fisheries and management of the High Seas. He has published around90 peer review papers and undertaken extensive science advisory work for the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, IUCN, FAO and the European Commission at the UN. His current research is interdisciplinary being focused on IUU fishing, marine debris and Sargassum in the Caribbean, gender equality in ocean science, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

His teaching experience has been mainly at Masters level and includes fish ecology(Aberdeen University) and global fisheries (Imperial College, London). He currently teaches the “Ocean Processes and Human Impacts” course at WMU. He has supervised numerous post-graduate students, many to PhD level.