Dr Alan M Walker
Principal Scientist for Freshwater and Diadromous Fisheries
Alan is Principal Advisor on diadromous fish. His expertise lies in multidisciplinary approaches to freshwater fisheries management, including fish behaviour, habitat use, population dynamics and ecophysiology. He chairs the ICES Working Group on Sea Trout, having chaired a range of other ICES workshops as well as scientific and technical reviews.
Alan has a longstanding record of delivering quality scientific advice at regional, national and international levels to Government & agencies, and international institutions including the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organisation (NASCO) and the European Commission.
He is an expert in planning, directing and delivering scientific research in the assessment of stock status, management and life history of salmonids, alongside other diadromous species such as European eel.
Alan’s research interests focus on understanding the life history and behaviour of diadromous fish species, and applying this evidence in developing data collection methods across aquatic ecosystems to improve assessments of stock status and human impacts. These support policy makers and stakeholders in the conservation and sustainable use of these key species.
He is an excellent communicator and expert in disseminating science through the publication of many papers in peer-reviewed journals, and over 60 international reports for ICES and other institutions. Alan has organised and delivered international science conferences for ICES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), Institute of Fisheries Management (IFM), World Fisheries Congress (WFC) and American Fisheries Society (AFS). He has presented research at >25 scientific conferences across Europe, North America, Japan, and Australia, including as an invited and plenary speaker at conferences in the UK, Norway, Sweden and Japan. In addition, he has delivered presentations to the wider public including wildlife trusts, water companies and associations.
Alan has an influential role in the ICES, having been a member of working groups since 2006. He has chaired 10 groups and workshops for diadromous stocks, contributed to many Advice Drafting Groups and, since 2018, been a UK ‘alternate’ member of the ICES Advice Committee (ACOM).
Publications
Google scholar: Alan M. Walker - Google Scholar
Research Gate: A. M. Walker (researchgate.net)
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5934-1449
Selected Publications
Righton, D., Piper, A., Aarestrup, K., Amilhat, E., Belpaire, C., Casselman, J., Castonguay, M., Díaz, E., Doerner, H., Faliex, E., Feunteun, E., Fukuda, N., Hanel, R., Hanzen, C., Jellyman, D., Kaifu, K., McCarthy, K., Miller, M., Pratt, T., Sasal, P., Schabetsberger, R., Shirashai, H., Simon, G., Sjöberg, N., Steele, K., Tsukamoto, K., Walker, A., Westerberg, H., Yokouchi, K., & Gollock, M. (2021). Important questions to progress science and sustainable management of Anguillid eels. Fish and Fisheries, 22(4): 762-788. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/faf.12549
Shephard, S., Josset, Q, Davidson, I., Kennedy, R., Magnusson, K., Gargan, P.G., Walker, A.M., & Poole, R. (2019). Combining empirical indicators and expert knowledge for surveillance of data-limited sea trout stocks. Ecological Indicators, 104: 96-106. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2019.04.073
Bašić, T., Aislabie, L., Ives, M., Fronkova, L., Piper, A. & Walker, A. (2019). Spatial and temporal behavioural patterns of the European eel Anguilla anguilla in a lacustrine environment. Aquatic Sciences 81, 73, online. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00027-019-0671-y
