Meet SMM President, Simon Goldsworthy
I have been a member of the SMM for over 30 years. After completing my BSc (1987) and PhD (1993) at Monash University (Melbourne, Australia), I undertook a Post-doctoral Research Fellowship with the Smithsonian Institution (Washington DC). Since then, I have principally worked as a government scientist in multiple agencies, but also as an academic (La Trobe University, Melbourne), and am currently an Affiliate Professor with The University of Adelaide and Flinders University (South Australia). For almost two-decades I have worked as a Principal Scientist with the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI) in Adelaide (South Australia), where my research has focused on mitigating marine mammal interactions with fisheries and aquaculture, and the population and foraging ecology of recovering long-nosed fur seals, and the endangered Australian sea lion.
Within the SMM I have acted on the Board of Editors for Marine Mammal Science (2007- 2014), and on the SMM Board as a Member at Large (2010-2014), and most recently as President-elect (2020-2022). As President I wish to enhance the Society’s visibility, impact and the opportunities for members and students to communicate and promote their research. The world’s ecological and climate systems are facing unprecedented threats from human impacts, and the rapidity of change is placing extreme pressure on many marine mammal species and their ecosystems. I believe that at no time has the Society’s mission to promote the global advancement of marine mammal science and increase its relevance and impact in education, conservation and management been so important.
Greetings! Please find below a few news items of interest from the Society for Marine Mammalogy for you regarding the next two conferences and a reminder to vote. Venue Change for the 2017 SMM Conference The organizers for the planned 2017 SMM Biennial Conference in Veracruz, Mexico had to reluctantly withdraw their offer to host […]
Christmas greetings to you all. I hope you are able to find time to immerse yourselves with friends and family and take pause before 2015 sweeps us up into another busy year. Two weeks ago we held the annual meeting of the SMM Board in San Francisco. The organising committee for the 21st Biennial Conference […]
Well here we go – my first blog in my new role as President of this very fine Society. Like all of us privileged enough to serve in the variety of roles that keep our Society vibrant, relevant, informative, influential and above all, attractive to be a part of, we do so in a voluntary […]
In a few hours (depending on the time zone), I pass the baton of President of the Society to the very capable hands of Nick Gales. I am sure his experience at the International Court of Justice has given him the gravitas required for the role! It has (mostly) been a very interesting and rewarding […]
The Society held its much awaited biennial conference on the theme of ‘Conservation of Marine Mammals: Science Making a Difference’ on the Otago University campus in Dunedin last week. The conference was a great success despite the unprecedented impact of multiple key threatening processes: the Global Financial Crisis, the Christchurch earthquakes, the US government shutdown […]