SL002.1 – Definition of socio-economic drivers of fishing pressure in eastern Sri Lanka – Local staff

Nishan is a marine biologist and underwater photographer with an interest in coral reef ecology, fisheries and marine protected area management. He has previously worked with the IUCN and is currently a member of Project Seahorse. His current research includes field studies on seahorses, coral reefs and sustainable small-scale fisheries.

Akshay is responsible for overseeing the day to day operations at the field station and making ure that everything works well. He is in charge of equipment maintenance, overseeing safety and providing logistical support to field research programs. He currently also acts as the BRT Boat Captain and Diving Safety Officer.

Gayashan works on the BRT coral reef research program. He has conducted extensive research on echinoderms in Sri Lanka and is now the primary coral reef scientist based at the field station.

The lead field researcher in the BRT elasmobranch fisheries programme Gobi splits his time between the BRT field station and Jaffna where he collects additional fisheries data.

Working with the coral reef program, Dino conducts regular surveys of small scale reef fisheries in the Pasikudah area documenting catch composition and fishing effort.