Amanda Vincent

Amanda Vincent is a Canadian marine biologist and conservationist, one of the world's leading experts on seahorses and their relatives.^[1] She holds the Canada Research Chair in Marine Conservation at the UBC Fisheries Centre at the University of British Columbia, Canada. Vincent co-founded and directs Project Seahorse, an interdisciplinary and international organisation committed to conservation and sustainable use of the world's coastal marine ecosystems.

Education

Vincent received a B.Sc. (Hons.) from the University of Western Ontario in Canada, and a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge, England. She was a Visiting Fellow in Sweden and Germany (1990–1991) and a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Oxford, England (1991–1996). She was a faculty member at McGill University from 1996–2002, and now is holds the Canada Research Chair in Marine Conservation at the Fisheries Centre at the University of British Columbia, Canada.

Project Seahorse

In 1996, Vincent co-founded and still directs Project Seahorse, an interdisciplinary international organisation committed to conservation and sustainable use of the world's coastal marine ecosystems.

Research

Vincent has written many scientific papers, technical reports, popular articles and policy briefings. She published the first monograph on the international trade in seahorses in 1996 and then co-authored a book on seahorses in 1999. Her work has been documented in five full-length television programmes, and other media coverage globally. Her background includes extensive rough travel through more than 60 countries.

Her research interests include:

• Seahorses, pipefishes, pegasid fishes;
• Marine protected areas and zoning;
• Community-based coastal resource management, particularly in Southeast Asia;
• Subsistence fisheries management and by-catch reduction;
• Marine trade assessment and policy development;
• Reproductive ecology of fishes and other marine organisms, and its evolution;
• Use of marine resources for non-food purposes (e.g. medicines, aquarium pets, and curios).

Vincent was the first person to study seahorses underwater, the first to document the extensive trade in these fishes, and the first to initiate a seahorse conservation project. Her work has received many awards and commendations. Vincent is consulted on marine management and policy issues. From 2000-2004, she chaired the Syngnathid Working Group for the 169-nation Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Project Seahorse played pivotal roles in the landmark CITES decision to begin regulating international trade in some marine fishes of commercial importance. In addition, Vincent has held special responsibility for coastal species as a member of the Steering Committee of the IUCN Species Survival Commission.^[2]

Selected publications

• Vincent, ACJ, Giles BG, Czembor CA, Foster SF. 2011. Trade in Seahorses and Other Syngnathids in Countries Outside Asia (1998–2001).
• Vincent, ACJ, Foster SJ, Koldewey HJ. 2011. Conservation and management of seahorses and other Syngnathidae. Journal of Fish Biology. 78(6):1681-1724.
• Vincent, ACJ. 2008. Keynote: Reconciling fisheries with conservation on coral reefs: the world as an onion.. Reconciling fisheries with conservation: Fourth World Fisheries Congress. 49:1435–1467.
• Vincent, ACJ, Meeuwig J, Pajaro M, Perante N. 2007. Characterizing a small-scale, data-poor, artisanal fishery: Seahorses in the central Philippines. Fisheries Research. 86(2-3):207-215.
• Vincent, ACJ, Marsden AD, Sumaila. UR. 2007. The role of globalization in creating and addressing seahorse conservation problems.. Globalization: Effects on Fisheries Resources. :184-214.
• Vincent, ACJ. 2006. Live food and non-food fisheries on coral reefs, and their potential for management.. Coral Reef Conservation. . :183-236.
• Vincent, ACJ, Sadovy YJ. 1998. Reproductive ecology in the conservation and management of fishes.. Behavioural Ecology and Conservation Biology. . :209-245.
• All publications by Amanda Vincent (1998-present)

Awards and honours

• Whitley Award in Animal Conservation (1994)
• Grand Prix International pour l'Environment Marin (Conféderation Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques: 1997),
• Rolex Award for Enterprise (1998)
• TIME magazine Leader for the 21st Century (1999)
• La Presse Personality of the Year (2000)
• William Dawson Scholar, 2000.
• Pew Fellow in Marine Conservation, 2000
• Chevron Conservation Award (2005)
• Yves Rocher Foundation Woman of the Earth (2007).

References

External links

• Amanda Vincent profile (Project Seahorse)
• Amanda Vincent profile (Indianapolis Prize)
• “Leaders in Conservation named finalists for $100,000 award to help animals”
• “UBC prof gets seahorse global protection”