Press release: New Chief Scientific Advisor appointed by the MMO

Professor Selina Stead of Newcastle University has been appointed Chief Scientific Advisor (CSA) to the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) it has been announced.

Prof. Stead is Dean, Public Orator and Professor of Marine Governance and Environmental Sciences at Newcastle University and has held a number of senior marine-related appointments.

She joins the MMO with a wealth of skills and experience having worked on developing innovative marine policy programmes underpinned by interdisciplinary statistical evidence. In her work at Newcastle University she combines natural and social science methods and leads international teams to tackle complex problems such as poverty in coastal areas and marine food insecurity.

Her current and recent research spans marine science and governance of coral reef ecosystems; fisheries management and piracy in East Africa, Oman, Somalia and the UK; sea cucumber biology in South Africa; seaweed aquaculture in Malaysia; community based management in Nigeria, and; marine governance of Small Island Developing States in the Caribbean, Southeast Asia, South Pacific, and the western Indian Ocean.

The post is part-time and Prof. Stead will continue working independently in her outside career to encourage sharing of the latest thinking and learning in marine science, subject to the usual conflict of interest criteria.

Professor Selina Stead, Chief Scientific Advisor to the MMO, said:

I have my dream job as a marine biologist. I have a passionate belief that seas and oceans should be accessible to all.

My career aims are to improve how and why decisions are made for sustainable marine resource management. I look forward to progressing these with the MMO.

John Tuckett, Chief Executive of the MMO, said:

I’m pleased to welcome Professor Stead to the MMO. Her wealth of knowledge and experience will be of great benefit to our ambitions for the future of marine management in UK waters and beyond.

This appointment also represents our commitment to further strengthening our links with the marine science and academic community.

Professor Stead takes up post in June 2017, succeeding Stuart Rogers, Chief Scientist and Executive Director of the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), who fulfilled the role from Spring 2016.

More details about Selina’s background and experience are available on the MMO’s website.

The MMO is a non-departmental public body. It licences, regulates and plans marine activities in the seas around England so that they’re carried out in a sustainable way. The MMO is required by the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 to appoint a CSA.