I grew up on the west coast of Canada. I studied marine biology and fish

physiology at the University of Victoria and the University of British

Columbia, getting my Ph.D. in 1979 after a detour through the Faculty of

Music. An unsuccessful year as a civil servant in Ottawa was followed by a

decade writing research proposals and using the money to solve technical

problems in small-scale fish farming in Asia. A two-year interregnum in

high technology produced the world’s only laser-aimed underwater dart

gun and some unhappy investors. More overseas research on fish

conservation followed, this time concentrating on Latin America,

especially Brazil, which was entering its peak dam-building years.

In 1995, I teamed up with Ex-Minister of Fisheries Hon. John Fraser to

create World Fisheries Trust as a home base for my projects. As

Executive Director of WFT, I managed fisheries projects in B.C. and

Brazil, produced international workshops, books, salmon board games

(Up the Creek), displays, videos and popular articles, all on the theme of

sustainable global fisheries. I left WFT in 2005, in the middle of a $3

million project on Brazilian freshwater fisheries, having written one final

report too many.  Since then I have worked independently, focusing on

endangered species reports for the federal and provincial governments

and international clients.

I began my writing career at age ten, with Nurse Rundle’s Dilemma,

followed by several unpublished letters to the editor. After a decade of

convincing science bureaucrats to fund me, I branched out from research

proposals to write Against the Current, a travel column for the Victoria

Times-Colonist, followed by another column, Reality Check, for Waters

magazine, as well as science-travel articles for Escape and Westworld.

I live in Victoria.  When I’m not consulting or writing, I sail and play the

piano.