Tony Nalovic

Tony’s family owned one of the major shrimp fishing fleets in French Guiana from the 1980s until 2005. He studied marine biology at Spring Hill College in Alabama, before earning a Master’s degree in Fisheries Science from the Virginia Institute of Marine Science. He worked for 18 years at the Regional Fisheries Committee of French Guiana, where he led the technical division focused on improving fishers’ livelihoods and reducing the environmental impacts of artisanal and industrial fisheries, particularly with regard to sea turtle bycatch.

Beyond his expertise in shrimp trawling gear and gillnets, Tony is a tireless advocate of collaborative approaches to fisheries research, which he considers the only viable path toward sustainable conservation in this sector. He also actively promotes legislation in importing countries requiring the use of Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs) by trawl fisheries seeking access to EU markets, following the example set by the United States more than 30 years ago. He has also played a key role in the implementation of TEDs in French Guiana and Gabon.

Among his many leadership roles, Tony has served since 2012 as Regional Co-Chair (together with Dr Eduardo Cuevas in Mexico) of the IUCN Marine Turtle Specialist Group for the Northwest Atlantic. He is also the coordinator of the Bycatch Think Tank within the Global Turtle Bycatch Forum (GTBF). Finally, he leads FishingCleaner.com, a startup working to reduce the impacts of diverse fisheries through the adoption of innovative methods and behavior change.