My research focuses on topics at the interface between human impacts on the marine environment and conservation, with a particular emphasis on developing techniques to minimize ecological impacts of fisheries and aquaculture, and research to underpin the appropriate use of marine protected areas. I am interested in the recovery and dispersal dynamics in seabed communities and integration of social and economic valuation of marine biodiversity. My research has informed international and national fishing and conservation policies and I work extensively with the seafood industry to find technological solutions that will improve sustainable practices. 

Michel Kaiser is co-Director of the Lyell Centre and is a Professor of Fisheries Conservation at The Lyell Centre, Heriot-Watt University. Previously he held the role of 'Chief Scientist' for the University from 2019-2022. He chaired the ‘Future of Our Inshore Fisheries’ initiative and is a Member of the IUCN-CEM-Fisheries Expert Group. He chaired the International Scientific Advisory Committee for the pulse trawling project (Holland) from 2015 - 2020. He co-convened the 6^th World Fisheries Congress in 2012. He has served on the boards of several public bodies including Seafish and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee. He sat on the Cabinet Office review committee of Highly Protected Marine Areas. After gaining his Ph.D. in 1991, he joined CEFAS to lead research on the effects of human activities (fishing and aquaculture) on the marine environment. He was at Bangor University for 20 years where he was awarded a personal Chair in 2006. He was the Marine Stewardship Council’s Science & Standards Director from 2018 - 2019. Michel was awarded the Fisheries Society of the British Isles (FSBI) medal in 2004 for his contribution to fish and fisheries research. He has authored over 200 peer reviewed publications and has written or edited 6 books, of which the textbook Marine Ecology: Processes, Systems & Impacts is widely adopted and now in its third edition. He is the Editor in Chief of the Journal of Fish Biology. He was elected as a Member of Academia Europaea in 2016 and elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 2023.

Sustainable fisheries, marine protected areas, conservation, human impacts, fishing communities, management, innovation

Chief Scientist - Heriot-Watt University

Professor of Fisheries Conservation