About John F. Caddy

My active role in fisheries research lasted almost 50 years, from when I emigrated from the UK as a young post-doc (London University), to a junior scientist post at the St Andrews Laboratory in New Brunswick, of the Canadian Fisheries Research Board; then to Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Halifax, Nova Scotia. ‘I learned my trade’ as a practical field researcher documenting Canadian East Coast invertebrate fisheries. The emphasis then was on research vessel surveys, monitoring commercial fleets, and acting as an advisor to the shellfish (mainly scallop and lobster) industries. My initial speciality was in underwater ecosystems studies and fishing gear performance, where I was encouraged to find research applications for scuba and submersibles. To improve my mathematical skills, I spent a sabbatical year at the University of Washington, Seattle taking courses in quantitative science. My knowledge of fisheries theory improved, but this did not convert me into a mathematician (as anyone reading my papers can deduce!). On my return I was nonetheless given a wider role in applied population studies and fisheries management applications, and took part in meetings of the ICNAF, ICES and ICCAT Commissions. This last role led to an offer to join FAO as a senior resource officer, where I had the opportunity to work with scientists and fishery managers from many countries; taking every chance to apply myself to a wide range of practical problems as a ‘scientific generalist', The variety of my output will be evident from this autobiographical report.

Summary of University Qualifications and Employment

1962: BSc HONS, MARINE BIOLOGY, Queen Mary College, University of London, U.K.

1963-4: Research assistant at shellfish lab. of Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, UK

1966: PhD, Ecology of an estuarine shellfish, QMC, University of London, England.

1972-3: SABBATICAL YEAR; Population Dynamics and Applied Mathematics at the Centre for

Quantitative Science in Fisheries, Forestry and Wildlife; University of Washington, Seattle USA.