About me

Currently, I am a recovery planner with the Species at Risk Act (SARA) salmon team at DFO Pacific where I am leading the SARA listing evaluation process and recovery planning for Fraser River sockeye salmon populations assessed to be at risk. In my previous role as the stock identification biologist at the Pacific Salmon Commission, I analyzed data to estimate stock composition of Fraser River sockeye and pink salmon stocks, and developed approaches to improve stock identification accuracy and processes. Previously, I was a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Toronto at Scarborough (UTSC), working with Dr. Nick Mandrak (UTSC) and Dr. Scott Reid at the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (OMNRF) on modelling different aspects of species at risk in Ontario wetlands, and optimizing sampling and monitoring of wetland fishes. I completed my PhD in 2015 at the University of Toronto, examining the effects of spatial and temporal changes in habitat on fish diversity. I am broadly interested in using both ecological and genetic analyses to understand and conserve biodiversity. I believe, an interdisciplinary (holistic) approach is needed to solve most applied problems, especially in conservation and natural resource management. I strive to learn at least the fundamentals in other areas related to conservation, from policy to economics, because most conservation related problems have multiple stakeholders and are multidimensional problems. You can find more about my past/present research in the research interests page

Contact information:

Pasan Samarasin,

Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Vancouver, BC.

Email: pasan(dot)samarasin(at)gmail(dot)com