IFISH 7

Dr. Ingunn Marie Holmen is Research Director for Dept. of Fisheries and New Biomarine Industry in SINTEF Ocean, as well as Centre Director for SFI Harvest, a Research-based Centre for Innovation. Holmen has been with SINTEF for the last thirty-four years. Her research has focused on occupational safety and health for workers in extreme environments, with the last fifteen years specializing in safety and risk management for fisheries and aquaculture. Holmen has published numerous papers and presented on fatal and non-fatal injury, risk assessments, causal chain analyses, development of targeted risk-reducing measures, holistic risk management, and other topics in aquaculture and commercial fishing. She won the Norwegian Design Council’s Award for Design Excellence in 2007 for the Regatta Fisherman, outerwear created for commercial fishermen, with built-in buoyancy and a sleek design to help mitigate the chance of gear entanglement.

She is a social scientist with an MSc from the London School of Economics and 20 years of experience in fisheries. Her work with FAO has covered the development and implementation of international instruments, regional fishery bodies, ecolabelling, disaster risk management, and climate change adaptation in fisheries and aquaculture. She also contributed to the consultation process that led to the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries (SSF Guidelines). Within FAO, Florence leads the development of FAO’s fishing safety programme. Her responsibilities focus on building capacity to improve the safety of fishers, particularly in small-scale fisheries. She coordinates the development and dissemination of technical guidelines, codes, training materials and practical tools supporting safer fishing operations, risk management and accident prevention, in coordination with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the International Labour Organization (ILO). She also maintains FAO’s working relationships with the World Health Organization (WHO), promoting coordinated approaches to fishing safety, occupational health and drowning prevention.

Dr Dorothy Ngajilo is an occupational medicine specialist serving as a Programme Management Officer leading health and labour engagement under the Global Framework on Chemicals at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in Geneva. She previously worked with the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Occupational and Workplace Health Programme, supporting international policy and technical work on workers’ health. She holds a Doctor of Medicine (MD), as well as a Master of Medicine (MMed) in Occupational Medicine and a PhD in Public Health from the University of Cape Town. She is also a Fellow of the College of Public Health Medicine of South Africa. Her research focuses on occupational health risks in underserved and informal work settings, with particular emphasis on aquaculture and seaweed farming. She brings experience in research, policy development, capacity-building and international collaboration to improve health and safety in high-risk sectors.

Mohamed Jeebhay is an occupational medicine specialist physician and research scientist. He leads the research programme on occupational allergens and asthma in the Centre for Environmental and Occupational Health Research. His current work focuses on OHS in aquaculture and the prevention of occupational allergy and asthma in fish processing environments. He is a Fellow of the UCT College of Fellows, the Colleges of Medicine of South Africa, and the Academy of Science of South Africa. Mohamed was Chair of the Environmental and Occupational Allergy Interest Group of the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (2019–2022) and serves on the editorial boards of two leading African allergy and respiratory medicine journals. He is a previous recipient of the International Award in OHS of the American Public Health Association (APHA).

Ayodeji Adeoye is a fisheries and aquaculture researcher specialising in fish nutrition, sustainable feed development, and production system optimisation, as well as global OHS in aquaculture. He contributed to the development of AquaSafe, a mobile software for promoting workers’ safety and health in aquaculture. With over a decade of university teaching and applied research experience, he now works as a freelance consultant supporting aquaculture operators and aquafeed manufacturers, designing, setting up, and improving aquaculture facilities, as well as providing advisory services to aquafeed manufacturers across Africa and beyond.

Dr. Serge Raemaekers is the co-founder and Managing Director of ABALOBI, and a fisheries researcher at the University of Cape Town. He works closely with fish workers and fisher leaders along the coast as he aims to champion and transform stakeholder-driven processes of knowledge generation. Most of his work is centered on social learning processes with local small-scale fishers, with the aim to ensure that the communities’ knowledge; needs and vision are adequately captured and incorporated in any planning and decision making processes. His research work engages with systems thinking and fisheries governance practice with the aim to recommend governance models and management approaches that are more applicable to small-scale fishers ‘realities.

Dr Fatima Junaid is a psychosocial risks and wellbeing specialist. Her research focuses on the wellbeing of minority and marginalised communities, with the aim to develop support through organisational, social and policy changes. Building on literature and lived experiences of Small Scales Fishers, her work explores how working conditions, and social inequalities influence mental health, resilience, and quality of life in SSF. Using an interdisciplinary wellbeing lens, she contributes to fisher-centred and sustainable approaches to policy and practice.

Dr. Trine Thorvaldsen holds a PhD in Social Anthropology and is a Senior Research Scientist at SINTEF Ocean. She has more than 15 years of experience in applied research, focusing on safety, work practices, risk management, and emergency preparedness in the fisheries and aquaculture sectors. Through scientific publications, presentations, stakeholder dialogue, and digital platforms, she seeks to make research-based knowledge accessible and actionable for industry stakeholders and regulators, helping to improve occupational health and safety in the seafood industry.

Dr Matteo Scarponi is a Principal Consulting Engineer in the Wolfson Unit, University of Southampton. He has 19 years of commercial consulting experience to the marine industry. Matteo has a PhD in Industrial Engineering, is a Chartered Engineer through the Royal Institution of Naval Architects, is the Wolfson Unit’s vessel stability and safety lead, and manages the Unit’s marine design software offering. Matteo has a track record of managing and conducting a broad range of numerical and experimental stability consultancy projects for international clients, including the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB), the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and vessel designers worldwide. He is a member of the Stability Working Group within the Fishing Industry Safety and Health (FISH) Platform; an international consultant to the PSMA, Fisheries Operations and Compliance Team in the Fisheries and Aquaculture Division of FAO; a member of the International Commercial Fishing PFD Working Group. Over the last 10 years, Matteo was contracted by the UK MAIB to provide naval architecture support to marine accident investigations, including: Capsize and sinking of scallop dredger JMT with loss of 2 lives; Capsize and sinking of scallop dredger Joanna C with loss of 2 lives; Capsize of recreational craft Wheelyboat 123 with the loss of 2 lives; Capsize and foundering of the prawn trawler Odyssey (FR 70); Foundering of the Sailing Yacht Bayesian with loss of 7 lives. Subsequently, in 2024-25 he co-authored the FAO “Guidelines for the seaworthiness and safety inspection of small fishing vessels”, which is currently being developed as a joint voluntary instrument by FAO and IMO, the International Maritime Organisation. Currently, Matteo is leading the project ‘Upskilling maritime professionals in South Africa towards a safer fishing fleet’ funded by Lloyd’s Register Foundation, which includes the delivery of abbreviated naval architecture training in Cape Town in early 2027.

Helen leads the RNLI international advocacy work on fishing safety, helping to raise awareness of the dangerous nature of fishing, especially for those in Small-Scale Fisheries and Aquaculture around the world.  She works in partnership with others in organisations such as the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation and civil society groups in Africa working with small scale fishers. She is part of a small team within the RNLI looking to bring their experience and knowledge from the UK and Ireland to countries around the world.  The RNLI has more than 200 years of experience working around the coasts of Ireland and the UK with fishing communities, and training people and organisations in skills and approaches to stay safe. They are adapting these tools to develop locally appropriate solutions and training for small-scale fishers in Africa. Based in Ireland, she has more than 25 years’ experience in climate change, livelihoods and rural development. She worked for more than 20 years with the UK Department for International Development, focused on climate adaptation programmes and policies across Asia and Africa, with a focus on supporting livelihoods and generating employment and benefits for all, especially women and other marginalised groups.

Dr. Jennifer Lincoln has three decades of occupational safety and health experience focusing on the prevention of traumatic injuries among workers in high-risk industries. Since 2020, Dr. Lincoln has lead the NIOSH Office of Agriculture Safety and Health where she leads the development of a national research framework and strategy for evidence-based improvements in occupational safety and health for all agriculture, forestry, and fishing sector (AgFF) workers. Dr. Lincoln represents NIOSH in policy and strategy discussions with key decision makers from other federal agencies, international partner agencies and governments, industry and labor organizations, and academic institutions on topics related to AgFF occupational safety and health. Throughout her career, Dr. Lincoln has brought energy, vision, and commitment to ensure that investments in science and outreach pay off with evidence-based research findings and evaluated interventions that offer practical, feasible applications in the real world. In 2021, she received the National Fishermen “Highliner” award for her exceptional contribution to improve fishing safety in the United States. Dr. Lincoln is a Certified Safety Professional and earned her Ph.D. in Health Policy and Management with an emphasis on Occupational Injury Control from Johns Hopkins University.

Leann's research background focusses on commercial fishing safety, psychology, program evaluation, health promotion, and storytelling. Her marine background includes commercial long-lining for halibut and black cod, power trolling and gillnetting for salmon, thousands of miles of offshore sailing, and commuting to her float house daily by paddle or skiff.

Farah Arosemena-Murfee is the Programs Director at the Southeastern Coastal Center for Agricultural Health and Safety (SCCAHS), where since 2018 she has drawn on nearly twenty years of experience leading research portfolios across multiple academic institutions and federally-funded Center grants - developing strategic initiatives, fostering research collaborations, and advising on policy and operations. In each of these roles, she has guided occupational health research focused on reducing injury and disease risk among agricultural and fishing workforces in rural, remote, and disaster-prone communities.

Julie Sorensen is the Director of the Northeast Center for Occupational Health and Safety: Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing, which is funded by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health and is a program of the Bassett Healthcare Network in Cooperstown, NY. Julie received her PhD in Epidemiology from Umea University, in Umea, Sweden, holds a Masters in Medical Anthropology and a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications. Julie’s research interests include qualitative research methods, social marketing, intervention development, intervention dissemination and human behavior research. Over the past two decades Julie has worked with fishing communities to develop workplace health and safety interventions, including the Lifejackets for Lobstermen project and the Healthy Harvesters Project. She has also conducted research on sleep deprivation and its associated affect’s on fisher’s health and safety. She has been a member of the IFISH Planning Committee since 2017 and serves as an observer on the International Fund for Fishing Safety Steering Committee.

Jess’s research uses applied mixed methods to center the voices of oppressed workers in illuminating, conceptualizing, and quantifying the effects of climate and environmental change on working conditions in seafood supply chains and to provide an evidence-base to end exploitative labor practices in supply chains. Her research has informed the practice of government agencies, front line port welfare agencies, and unions and worker representatives.

KC Elliott is an Epidemiologist and Certified Safety Professional focused on occupational safety, health, and wellbeing for agriculture, forestry, and fishing workers. As Deputy Associate Director of the Office of Agricultural Safety and Health at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), she fosters partnerships, advances communication, and supports research initiatives. Her work focuses on fatigue management, mental health, rural health, and emerging technologies.

Amanda (Mandy) Roome works with commercial fishermen to determine ways to improve the health and safety of the industry. She has worked on lifejacket initiatives, working with fishermen identify lifejackets that are both comfortable and feasible for them to work in. She has also studied the effects of sleep deprivation on health and mental health impacts on fishermen.

Dr. Anthony (Tony) Charles is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canda (FRSC) and professor in Environmental Science and the Sobey School of Business at Saint Mary's University (Halifax, Canada). He is Director of the Community Conservation Research Network, a global initiative on community environmental stewardship, Director of the Small-Scale Fisheries Stewardship Project, on fisheries combining food and livelihood security with conservation, and Co-Lead of the Sustainable Use Theme within the Arramat project on “Strengthening Health and Wellbeing through Indigenous-Led Conservation and Sustainable Relationships with Biodiversity”. Dr. Charles holds a Pew Fellowship in Marine Conservation and a Gulf of Maine Visionary Award, and is currently Vice-Chair, Fisheries Expert Group, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). He has served as an advisor to many environmental, Indigenous and community organizations. His interdisciplinary research focuses on oceans and fisheries, including biodiversity and climate, governance and management. Dr. Charles has authored over 150 publications, including the recent books “Sustainable Fishery Systems” and “Governance of Marine Fisheries and Biodiversity Conservation”, as well as many publications of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.

Derek Archer is a former member of the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force (Coast Guard) where he served for over twenty-eight (28) years, having attained the rank of Fleet Chief Petty Officer. He is a well-rounded individual who represented Trinidad and Tobago at the 1984 Olympic Games held in Los Angeles in track and field. Derek is certified in the field of Health, Safety, Security, and the Environment and has a Diploma in Security Administration. He is certified as a lecturer for the Safety at Sea Training for Small Scale Fishers with the FAO and has delivered the program to over 100 fisher forks throughout Trinidad. He is also a certified First Aid Instructor with the Trinidad and Tobago Red Cross and conducts Maritime Training in Personal Survival Technique, Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities, Basic First Aid and Security Awareness.

Michael Savins is from Australia and has now lived for 40 years in Kiribati. A professional boatbuilder that with his Kiribati wife Riteta started and continue to this day: Teikabuti Fishing Company Ltd in the 90’s exporting deep water snapper to Hawaii, live lobsters to Singapore and Tuna Jerky to Japan, Korea, Australia and more recently micro canning operations. Atoll Beauties private sector giant clam/sandfish hatchery and farm exports to international aquarium markets. KiriCraft Central Pacific building inter island passenger cargo vessels/fishing craft and high finish pleasure craft into Australia. Michael achieved his undergraduates 2008-2012 and then Masters in Community Development with Murdoch University Western Australia in 2013-2016. Following 5 ½ years with FAO in Somalia, Michael is presently working for FAO as an International Fish Value Chain Expert.

Rita is a physician and former Full Professor at the Medical School of the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA), with a PhD in Epidemiology and post-doctoral training at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health (USA). As a leader of the PROSAS research group and a volunteer researcher at UFBA, her work focuses on environmental epidemiology, occupational exposures, and climate change impacts among vulnerable populations using the CBPR approach. Since 2013, she has concentrated her research on the intersections of health, environmental safety, and sustainability within artisanal fishing communities. This dedicated focus has generated peer-reviewed articles and book chapters that advance our understanding of small-scale fishers' health and has directly informed public policies for these communities.

Lissandra Cavalli is a Ph.D. researcher specializing in occupational health and safety in aquaculture. She has authored scientific articles, book chapters, and the AquaSafe software, and has led research projects on occupational health and safety, climate impacts, and aquaculture. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador and served as an FAO/IUF international consultant on occupational health and safety in aquaculture for Latin America and the Caribbean. She was a Worker Expert and Adviser at the International Labour Organization (ILO) Meeting of Experts on a Code of Practice on Occupational Safety and Health in Aquaculture, contributing to the adoption of the ILO Code of Practice, and also participated as an observer representing the Brazilian Government at the ILO Tripartite Technical Meeting on the Future of Work in Aquaculture.

Cor Blonk is a maritime professional, particularly in the fishing industry. He has more than 27 years of experience as secretary of labour affairs at the Pelagic Freezer-trawler Association and the Dutch Shipowners’ Association for Sea Fisheries. In addition, he is the founder and one of the directors of the Fishing Industry’s Safety and Health Platform (FISH Platform), an organisation, as its name suggests, to improve fishers safety and health, which has grown since 2012 from 11 participants from 6 countries in the first meeting, to more than 150 member in over 40 countries across 5 continents now. One of the ambitions of the FISH Platform is to share knowledge and experiences that lead to towards a safer and healthier working environment on board. The FISH Platform is among others responsible for the development of a syllabus on the content of basic safety training for fishers of which about 80% is included in the revised IMO STCW-F, the development of the Fisheries Safety Management Code, a lead auditor course for the fisheries safety management system and the Safety Folder, a free and accessible safety management system for fishing vessels.

Dr Elizabeth Kumah is a global leader in evidence-informed practice and policy, with expertise in evidence synthesis, knowledge translation, and public health and social care research. Elizabeth has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing, and a PhD in evidence-informed practice. She is a Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy. Elizabeth currently works as Reviews and Synthesis Lead at Lloyd’s Register Foundation, working within the Global Safety Evidence Centre where she leads the collation, synthesis and maintenance of high-quality evidence synthesis products. The Global Safety Evidence Centre’s work directly informs the Lloyd’s Register Foundation’s mission to engineer a safer world, which includes improving safe work and safety science globally. Elizabeth’s work involves translating synthesised evidence to inform policy and practice in global safety.