Contact:
mhall665@gmail.com ​
30 years working on Bycatch
The School of Aquatic Fisheries and Sciences (SAFC) was founded in 1919, and is dedicated to the study of marine and freshwater ecosystems.

​Above is a link to the SAFC site featuring a biography of Martin A. Hall (Ph.D.), a school alumnus. 
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2020 -  Founding organizer of the redCID (red para el studio de capturas incidentals y Descartes) an IberoAmerican network for the study of bycatches and discards.

2020 - Guest Professor at Scripps Institution of Oceanography – Univ. of California, San Diego of a graduate course titled “Bycatch: problems and solutions” 

2020 - Member of the Working Group on Fish Technology and Fish Bevavior - International Council for the Exploration of the Sea
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2019 - Participated in Fisheries Improvement Projects workshops to improve sustainability for purse seine and longline fisheries

May 2011 - Member of the Steering Committee of the Circle Hook Symposium – Miami

Since 2009, Member of the Scientific Committee on Bycatch – International Seafood Sustainability Foundation

December 2009 - FAO Expert Consultation on "International Guidelines for Bycatch Management and Reduction of Discards"

November 2009 - Chair of the Steering Committee, International Seafood Sustainability Foundation Meeting to reduce bycatch in the tuna purse seine fisheries on Fish Aggregating Devices

2005 - Now       Member of the Jury “Smart Gear” awards
2003 - 2005      Member of the Scientific Advisory Board, Seafood Watch (continued                                   since 2014)
2006 - 2009      Member of the Technical Advisory Board, Marine Stewardship Council 
2002 - 2006      Member of the Scientific, Academic and Resource management section                             of the Stakeholder Council, Marine Stewardship Council (continued                                     since 2011)
2001 - Now       Member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Fundacion Vida Silvestre                             Argentina (WWF Partner Org.)

2001 - Member of the Standards Committee, Marine Stewardship Council
Member of the Board of Directors of the National Fisheries Conservation Center

1994 - 1995      Member of the Steering Committee of the Solving Bycatch National                                     Workshop, and Convener of the Management Solutions (International)                                 Session
1989 - 1992      Member of the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Reducing                               Porpoise Mortality from Tuna Fishing.

Since 1984, Head of Bycatch Programs and Agreement for the International Dolphin Conservation Program - Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission IATTC

1983 - 1984      Researcher, Centro Nacional Patagónico, Puerto Madryn, Argentina
1977 - 1982      Fulbright Fellowship, Univ. of Washington, Seattle
1973 - 1977      Head of the Seaweed Resources Program, Puerto Madryn, Argentina
1972 - 1973      Fellowship for Advanced Training in Biometry and Biostatistics,                                           Institute   of   Neurobiology, Buenos Aires, Argentina
1970 - 1972      Teaching Assistant, Univ. of Buenos Aires
1970 - 1972      Researcher on Ecology of Seaweeds/Benthic  Communities, Centro de                                 Investigaciones de Biología Marina, Buenos Aires, Argentina
ACHIEVEMENTS                                                         
                                                                                  Tuna-dolphin issue:
  • Expansion of international observer program from 3% to 100% between 1984 and 1992, and adherence of all nations fishing in the region.
  • Management of the second largest observer program in the world.
  • Identification of the major factors causing or increasing dolphin mortality in the fishery.
  • Development and implementation of a fishers training program to improve performance in reducing dolphin mortality.
  • Reduction of dolphin mortality from over 130,000 in 1986 to less than 900 in recent years, while maintaining the fishing operations at a high level.
                                                                             Other fisheries issues:
  • Development of strategies for bycatch reduction programs, and provision of technical and managerial advice to fisheries facing bycatch problems (e.g. bycatches on Fish Aggregating Devices).
  • Initiation of a multinational artisanal fishers program to reduce sea turtle bycatch along the Pacific Coast of America.                                                                        
                                                                                  Management issues:
  • Development and implementation of the first bycatch management system based on individual vessel quotas.
  • Development and implementation of the Agreement for the International Dolphin Conservation Program (AIDCP), a 19-nation treaty.
  • Development and implementation of the first transparent mechanism to monitor compliance with fisheries: the International Review Panel of the AIDCP.