Dr Tom Catchpole

Head of Applied Fisheries Research, CEFAS

Tom is the Head of Applied Fisheries Research at Cefas. He is responsible for providing scientific and policy advice to government institutes including the UK Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). He is an active member of the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES), was a member of the EU Commission's Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee on Fisheries (STECF) prior to EU exit and Strategic Marine Policy Advisor to the UK Secretary of State for the Environment from 2020-22. Tom has extensive experience in participating and leading national and international research projects to better understand the interactions between commercial fishing activities and the marine environment with the aim to enhance the sustainability of fishing. This work is done in collaboration with many other partners, including science institutes, Universities, NGOs, and particularly the fishing industry.