CURRICULUM VITAE
David Charles Cook
B.Sc. (Hons.), Dp. Fish. Mgt., Dp. Cons. & Land Mgt.
Tropical Indo-pacific Marine Fisheries Specialist
47 Marlin Drive, Wonga Beach
Queensland 4873, AUSTRALIA
Tel: +61 (0) 7 4098 7933
davecook@bigpond.com
British & Australian Passport holder
Profile - Dave Cook has the following experience and skills:
 Over 20 years working in fisheries project planning, project evaluation, management and
training in the South Pacific and SE Asia, including Papua New Guinea, Sumatra, Banda
Aceh, Hong Kong, East Timor and with shorter visits to Philippines, Fiji and Vanuatu
 Particularly interested in establishment of sustainable management practices, community
based management of marine resources and promotion of marine protected areas
(MPAs), attended the Int. Congress on Marine Protected Areas (IMPAC 1) Oct. 2005
 Extensive practical knowledge of fishing methods, gear and vessels used in the IndoPacific region and of its fishery resources; various master fisherman skills
 Rapid appraisal, project identification, project planning and report writing skills. Postdisaster appraisal and project identification experience in East Timor (Mar-Apr. 2000),
currently UNDP Fisheries Policy Adviser to the Fisheries Directorate in East Timor
 Holds full Australian Coxswain and Hong Kong master and engineer certificates of
competency for vessels to 13 metres and restricted radio operator’s licence
 Working knowledge of the sea food industry including fish processing, quality control and
the Chinese Hong Kong market including live reef fish & beche-de-mer
 Quality assessment & chain-of custody skills gained sampling large consignments of
suspect quality tuna on board tuna refrigeration vessels and at tuna canning factories
 Good cross-cultural communication skills, comfortable and self-reliant when working in
remote areas and with people of different ethnic backgrounds; accustomed to serving as
a communications link between village fishers, larger players in the industry and the
government administration
 Working knowledge of the habits and general biology of most commercial Indo-pacific
fish species and the gear and methods used in their capture
 Fully qualified SCUBA Dive master, Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI)
with an estimated 1,000 plus dives and with over 400 fish photographs published
 Digital video filming, production and editing skills; can supplement reports with edited
and narrated, broadcast quality, digital video in tape and DVD formats
 Computer literate, self-motivated, fit, energetic, in excellent health.
Relevant Professional Experience
Dates
1999 – 2005, Self-employed
Organisations
having used his
services:
UNDP in East Timor, MacAlister Elliott & Partners in Thailand and S.
Pacific, Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Papua New Guinea,
Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in East Timor,
British Broadcasting Corporation (Natural World Series) in Midway
Atoll and Solomon Islands, private clients in Hong Kong, Philippines &
Australia.
 Currently on a UNDP contract as Fisheries Policy Adviser to the
East Timor fisheries administration
 Inspection of refrigerated tuna carrier vessels and tuna canning
factories to identify causes of suspected contamination of tuna
 Project identification in PNG’s coastal fisheries sector for ADB
 A rapid appraisal of the fisheries sector in East Timor for FAO in
2000 and return visit for private company in 2003
 Fisheries project preparation work in Hong Kong for two large
private consultancy companies
 In Philippines, using video and photography, recording small-scale
baitfishing techniques suitable for bait capture for yellowfin tuna
and longline fishing
 Assisting BBC TV film a wildlife /diving documentary in Midway
Islands and preparatory work in the Solomon Islands.
 Aquaculture feasibility studies in Australia.
Recent work:
Dates & Location
Organisation
1991 – Dec. 1998, Hong Kong
Description
 1996 – 1998, Fisheries Officer, Artificial Reefs.
Agriculture & Fisheries Department, Hong Kong
 1993 – 1996, Fisheries Officer, Fisheries Technology.
 Jan 1991 – 1993, Fisheries Officer, Training and Development
Dates & Location
Organisation
1983 – Dec. 1990, Papua New Guinea
Description
 1989 – 1990, A/g Assistant secretary, extension & training
Department of Fisheries & Marine Resources
 1984 – 1989, Senior fisheries resource development officer.
 1983 – 1984, Fisheries officer
Dates & Location
Organisation
1982, Sumatra, Indonesia and North Sea
Description
Consultant master fisherman in West Sumatra & Banda Aceh, main
tasks were to document all main fishing gear and fishing vessels and
to demonstrate deepwater snapper fishing, not previously tested here;
In North Sea, appraisal of potential of fuel econometers on board
distant water trawler working off Shetlands
Sea Fish Industry Authority (SFIA) Hull, UK
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Dates & Location
Description
1981 – 1982, North & West Africa
Dates & Location
Organisation
1981, Fiji & Vanuatu
Description
Consultancy with a leading British firm of fisheries consultants
Dates & Location
Organisation
1980 – 1981, Grimsby College of Technology, UK
Description
Post-Grad. Diploma in Fisheries Management, for overseas in-service
fisheries officers. One of two scholarships awarded by ODA in 1980.
Dates & Location
Organisation
1975 – 1980, Papua New Guinea
Description
 1979 – 1980, Field co-ordinator, West New Britain Fisheries,
Five month tour of N. & W. African fishing ports by motorbike
Macalister, Elliott & Partners
British Overseas Development Administration (ODA)
Fisheries Division, Dept. of Primary Industry (DPI)
 1977 – 1979, Provincial fisheries officer, West New Britain
 1975 – 1976, Fisheries biologist, Daru and Port Moresby
Dates & Location
Organisation
Late 1974 - 1975, North Sea, off Aberdeen, Scotland
Description
Watchstander on oilrigs in the North Sea, earning cash for travel.
Dates & Location
Organisation
1974, Colintraive, Argyll, Scotland
Description
Seasonal work as self–employed diver / fisherman.
Dates & Location
1970 - 1974 Aberdeen University, Scotland
Description
Graduated top Honours Zoology student, Macgillivray Prize in Zoology
Dates & Location
1969 - 1970 Bridge of Weir, Scotland
Organisation
Conrad Cook & Sons, Forestry Consultants & Contractors
Description
Gained hands-on, practical experience in selective timber felling,
extraction and marketing, replanting of hardwoods & operation and
maintenance of relevant equipment, small business management and
book keeping.
South-eastern Drilling Company (SEDCO) of Texas, USA
Columba Divers
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Qualifications & Certificates
 B.Sc. (First Class Honours) Zoology. Aberdeen University, UK
 Post-grad. Diploma in Fisheries Management (Tropical & Temperate). Grimsby College of
Technology, UK, course designed for fisheries officers from tropical countries
 Certificate in Fisheries Extension and Extension Training Methods. South Pacific
Commission/International Centre of Ocean Development, Suva, Fiji
 Diploma in Conservation & Land Management (Wet Tropics), TAFE, Innisfail, Australia
 SCUBA diver, to PADI Dive Master level, Nitrox certified, Medic First Aid
 Full Australian Coxswain Certificate; Hong Kong Master and Engineer Grade II
 Australian Workplace Health and Safety and Senior First Aid
Personal Details
Nationality:
Dual citizenship, Australian & British passport holder.
Born:
February 1951, Dunoon, Scotland
Health & fitness:
Good health and fitness
Languages:
English, Melanesian Pidgin, some French, limited Bahasa Indonesia
Some Publications
Cook, D.C., A.L.K.Chan, K.C.C.Fok and K.D.P.Wilson, 1998. A Fisheries resource profile
prior to artificial reef deployment in Hong Kong. In PACON 97 Proceedings, Paper presented
to Symposium on Resource Development: Environmental Issues and the Sustainable
Development of Coastal Waters. August 6-8, 1997, Chinese University of Hong Kong, China.
PACON International, PO Box 11568, Honolulu, Hawaii 96828. pp444-455.
Wilson, K.D.P., and D.C. Cook, 1998. Artificial reef development: a marine protected area
approach. In The Marine Biology of the South China Sea, (Ed. B. Morton) Proceedings of the
Third International Conference on the Marine Biology of the South China Sea, Hong Kong,
28 October-1 November 1996. Hong Kong. Hong Kong University Press. pp529-539.
Referees (Some open references also available upon request)
For East Timor work, I reported to Jeremy Turner, Senior Fishery Industry Officer, Food and
Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, Rome, Italy: jeremy.turner@fao.org
For PNG work with ADB, I reported to Thomas Gloerfelt-Tarp, Fisheries Resource
Specialist, Asian Development Bank, ADB Avenue, Makati, Philippines: tgtarp@adb.org
For 1991-1998 inclusive Director, Agriculture, Fisheries & Conservation Department,
Kowloon, Hong Kong, or ex-senior officer, K.D.P.Wilson, wilsonkd@ntlworld.com
For PNG work, Barney Smith, previously a/Chief Fisheries Biologist in PNG, later Fisheries
Advisor for the South Pacific Commission, working closely with PNG Fisheries, currently:
Head, Fisheries Research, ACIAR: bsmith@fisheries.nsw.gov.au
For recent work contact: Stephen Akester: stephen.akester@macalister-elliott.com
Date: Nov. 2005
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