My research focuses on the sustainable management of marine resources, and the development of advanced underwater survey technologies, notably underwater acoustics, visual surveys and geostatistics, to study marine fauna.  I was an early adopter in the use of uncrewed vehicles to study fish distributions, and am the inventor of the Smartrawl (patent pending), a technological device to reduce the wasteful practice of discarding fish at sea and eliminating bycatch.  My work has spanned the globe from the Antarctic to the Arctic, from high altitude lakes, to tropical coral reefs, but most of it is centred around the fish and fisheries of the British Isles. 

I joined Heriot-Watt University in June 2022 as a Bicentennial Research Leader, Chair in Fisheries Science and Technology 

Previously I was at the University of Aberdeen, from 2018-2022, as Chair in Fisheries Science; and from 2011-2018 as MASTS Reader

1994-2011 Marine Scotland Science, Marine Laboratory Aberdeen: 2006-2011 Sea Fisheries group leader; 2001-2006 Fisheries Independent Methods Group Leader; 1998-2001 Senior Scientific Officer; 1994-1998 Postdoctoral Research Fellow (with University of Aberdeen).

1994 Fisheries Research Centre, Republic of Ireland

1992-1993 Overseas Development Administration (Bolivia)