The Shallow Marine Surveys Group was founded in June 2006 as a non-profit organisation with the goals of conducting research into the inshore marine waters around the Falkland Islands.

Staff include fisheries scientists and marine biologists from the Falkland Islands Government Fisheries Research Department and volunteers from the local community.

 

Karen Neely

Karen is the Project Officer and benthic ecologist with the Shallow Marine Surveys Group.

She has worked as a biologist and marine science educator in marine ecosystems around the world, from oysters on the North American eastern seaboard to dolphins in Hawaii, coral reefs in the shallow seas of Australia to deep-sea hydrothermal vents off the Pacific coast of Mexico. She has a B.A. (with honors) in Environmental Biology from the University of Colorado and recently received her Ph.D. from Duke University for her work on coral reef fish-habitat interactions. Other recent projects include using geographic information systems (GIS) to look at ocean basin-wide shifts in fish communities following changes in the substrate, determining the oceanographic factors driving tropical fish recruitment to temperate climates, and improving recreational fishing catches on artificial reefs by establishing prey refuges.

In the past five years, she has used SCUBA to observe and record over 48,000 fish and is thus excited to count a set of different fish and new species in the waters of the Falkland Islands.

Paul Brickle

Paul has a BSc (Hons) in Marine Biology from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. He also has an MSc and PhD from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland in fisheries biology and zoology respectively.

In Paul's current position, in the Falkland Islands Government Fisheries Department, he is responsible for the monitoring, biology and assessment of the Patagonian toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides), red cod (Salilota australis) and kingclip (Genypterus blacodes). Paul is also responsible for inshore fisheries which include the Falkland Islands' mullet (Eleginops maclovinus), false kingcrab (Paralomis granulosa) and red sea urchin (Loxechinus albus). Paul has had an enthusiastic interest in Falkland Islands shallow marine ecology for many years.

Wetjens Dimmlich

Wetjens is a Director of the group. He is also a research diver, photographer and webmaster.

Originally from Port Elizabeth, South Africa. He moved to Melbourne, Australia and obtained his BSc in Zoology and GIS/Remote Sensing at James Cook University of North Queensland. He worked in fisheries research around Australia for a decade before accepting a PhD scholarship in Fisheries Bioscience at Adelaide University. A keen photographer, Wetjens has also been diving since 1986.

Wetjens began his career working on the ecology and conservation of marine turtles in tropical Australia and has since been involved in many other research projects, with particular emphasis on pelagic fish species. He studied the prey species of the little penguin (Eudyptula minor) in Victoria for several years before moving to South Australia to develop fisheries monitoring protocols for the nascent sardine (Sardinops sagax) fishing industry in that state.  His main focus in recent years before moving to the Falkland Islands has been an investigation of the biology, life history and stock assessment of anchovies (Engraulis australis) in South Australian waters. During three years with the Falkland Islands Fisheries Department, Wetjens was involved in oceanographic studies in addition to stock assessment and management of commercially fished species around the Falkland Islands.

Wetjens currently works in London, UK, where he is a Fishery Assessment Manager with the Marine Stewardship Council, a non-profit organisation which contributes to the health of the world's oceans by recognising and rewarding sustainable fishing practices.

Steve Cartwright

Steve is a Director/Secretary of the group. He is also a research diver and coxswain. Steve is the owner of "Chancer" a 28ft American Fastfisher adapted for use as a dive platform, from which most of the diving around the Stanley area is undertaken. 

Steve has been diving in these cool waters since 1995.  Originally from Yorkshire, England, Steve moved to the Falkland Islands in 1984.  His boating career includes working as a coxswain for Sulivan Shipping Services Limited in the Falkland Islands for 14 years, the last 10 as chief coxswain.  During this time he gained RYA qualifications and commerical endorsements in motorboating.

No PhD to report but if you need something done, fixed or found Steve's your man!
 

Dion Poncet

Dion Poncet is one of the most remarkable skippers on the high seas having been born and raised on a yacht in the Southern Ocean. Inevitably, with this background there are few corners of the Antarctic Peninsula, South Georgia and Falkland Islands that Dion does not know. His working knowledge of high latitude charter vessels, coupled with his ability to fix almost anything, makes Dion a valuable addition to any project or expedition.Dion skippers our regular charter vessel the "Damien II", He is also one of the group's research divers and is involved in underwater photography and specimen collection.

Judith Brown

Judith is involved in the research diving, photography and identifying of marine critters.

Judith took up diving in 1991 in her home waters in the North east of England. She is a BSAC Advanced diver and is HSE IV qualified. She has a BSc in Applied Marine biology from Heriot Watt University in Edinburgh and has since worked mainly in fisheries research. Working for the British Antarctic survey Judith spent two years on South Georgia studying the commercially important fish species in the area. Sticking with the colder climes (and penguins) she then spent six months on Signy Island as a freshwater limnologist. After that she returned to the UK and moved to the Lake District where she worked for Eden Rivers Trust on salmon and trout.

In her current job with the Falkland Island Government Fisheries Department, Judith is working on ageing, reproduction, diet and migration movements of Patagonian toothfish as part of her PhD programme.

Steve Brown

Steve is a member of the Shallow Marine Surveys Group technical services team as well as one of the research divers and photographers. Steve is used to functioning in cold climes having worked for the British Antarctic survey for 6 years, working on all of their Antarctic stations initially as an electrician then in a management role. As well as his ability to fix most things Steve also has his RYA powerboat qualification. 

Steve was introduced to the ways of diving in Bonaire in the Dutch Antilles and has since become truly addicted and has had the opportunity to dive in the Maldives, UK, Easter Island, Red Sea and the Falklands.

Vladimir Laptikhovsky

Vlad is involved in the research diving, and identifying of marine fauna. He was born in the oldest Russian town, Novgorod, amidst pristine northeast European forests, where bears are traffic hazards and wolves are as common as hares. 

Vlad has an MSc in ichthyology (1985) and a PhD in hydrobiology (1995) from the Kaliningrad University and a DSc in hydrobiology (2006) at the All-Russian Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography, Moscow. He has been working on fishery management and investigations of reproductive biology of both squid and fish in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, and participated in the first Russian round-the-world cruise of the barque “Kruzenshtern” collecting and identifying fish and invertebrates. After some scuba experience in the Gulf of Guinea in 1986-1987 he resumed diving in 2004.

Vlad’s current position is the data analyst in the Falkland Islands Government Fisheries Department, where he is responsible for the monitoring of fisheries around the islands and respective statistics, as well as for investigation of the biology and stocks of Illex squid and rockcod, Patagonototthen ramsay and monitoring of oceanography.

 Martin Collins

Martin is involved in research diving, and identification of marine fauna. Originally from Liverpool, Martin first came to the Falklands as a fisheries observer in 1990, but left after a year to undertake a PhD investigating the ecology of squid around the Irish Coast.  

After completing his PhD Martin worked at Aberdeen University, researching deep-sea fish ecology and lecturing. During his time in Aberdeen Martin learned to dive in the cool Scottish waters and has dived sporadically ever since in various parts of the world.  In 2002, after seven years in Aberdeen, Martin moved to the British Antarctic Survey to work on the ecology of Southern Ocean nekton (fish and squid).  

In May 2009 Martin moved to the Falklands to take up a post as Director of Fisheries and Senior Executive for South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.

 Elena Juergens

Elena Juergens completed her PhD studentship in ecology and hydrobiology at the Kaliningrad State Technical University (Russia) with additional work undertaken in Rostock (Germany) partially supported by a fund for young scientists (Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt). In 2006 she defended her PhD (Ecology of the bivalve Macoma balthica in the south Baltic Sea).

Elena has specialised in studies of bivalve biology including genetic methods, and now is trying to disentangle the mysteries of age, growth, reproductive biology and other aspects of the life history strategies of the clam Eurhomalea exalbida in Falkland Island waters.