Dr. Andrew Trites, professor in the Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries has been awarded the Timothy R. Parsons Medal from Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO).
This award is awarded for distinguished achievement in ocean sciences, leadership through teaching or mentoring, and significant contributions to multidisciplinary facets of ocean sciences.
Andrew Trites
Dr. Andrew Trites has been studying marine mammals (primarily Steller sea lions, harbour seals, northern fur seals, and killer whales), in the North Pacific for over 30 years. In 1993 he, with Dr. Peter Larkin, created the North Pacific Universities Marine Mammal Research Consortium to bring together the very best research talents from west coast universities (Universities of Alaska, British Columbia, Washington and Oregon State) to collectively resolve critical research problems pertaining to marine mammals. He also established the UBC Open Water Research Station to undertake open-ocean diving and foraging studies with free-swimming trained sea lions, and oversees field programs in Alaska and British Columbia. He leads the UBC Marine Mammal Research Unit (MMRU), a research program that furthers the conservation and understanding of marine mammals and resolves conflicts between people and marine mammals.
One of his nominators said, “Perhaps the greatest impact that Dr. Trites has had in the field of ocean sciences is his research on the roles of marine mammals – particularly the Steller sea lion and Northern fur seal – in the marine ecosystems of the North Pacific. Through a combination of innovative interdisciplinary studies on the physiology and energetics of captive seals, and field studies of the behaviour and ecology of wild populations, he has shed much needed light on the causes of the unexplained and precipitous decline of these species. This knowledge will be key to the future conservation and management of marine mammals in the North Pacific.”
He has published more papers on northern fur seals and Steller sea lions than any other researcher, according to the Web of Science.
Dr. Trites has published over 240 journal articles, symposium chapters, non-refereed articles, reports and book chapters. These include Marine Mammals in the Strait of Georgia – a book chapter in the BC best seller The Sea Among Us: the Amazing Strait of Georgia, and three chapters in the recently published Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals. He has over 8,800 citations and has published more papers on northern fur seals and Steller sea lions than any other researcher, according to the Web of Science.
He is a Fellow of the Pacific Wildlife Federation and Scientific Advisor on Bering Watch, the Alaska SeaLife Center, and the Pacific Salmon Foundation’s Strait of Georgia Coho and Chinook Program. He is also the Canadian Delegate for the PICES Advisory Panel on Marine Birds and Mammals and co-Chair of the including the Marine Mammal Specialist Group for COSEWIC (the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada).
Another one of his referees summed him up this way, “Dr. Trites ranks in the top 5% of the scientists in our [marine research] profession.”
Dr. Trites was given the medal at a gala luncheon in Halifax, NS on June 12, 2018.
Dr. Andrew Trites receives the Parsons Award from Andrew Stewart, Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
Tags: Andrew Trites, Awards, Faculty, Marine Mammal Research Unit, Marine mammals