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Pete Waldie

Coastal Fisheries Scientist, Pacific Division

Brisbane, Australia

Coastal Fisheries Scientist, Pacific Division

Peter Waldie Pete Waldie, a fisheries scientist in TNC's Melanesia program. © Justine E. Hausheer/TNC

AREAs OF EXPERTISE

Community-based Fisheries Management, Conservation Science, Marine Ecology, Social-ecological System

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MEDIA CONTACT

Justine E. Hausheer
Email:

Biography

Peter (Pete) Waldie joined The Nature Conservancy’s Pacific Division as a Coastal Fisheries Scientist in 2017. Pete has a strong background in both the ecological and social aspects of coral reef fisheries. He completed his PhD in 2016 with James Cook University, where he investigated the suitability of community-based management in conserving large, threatened, fishery-targeted coral reef fishes. Pete’s PhD research was conducted in New Ireland Province in Papua New Guinea, where he spent many months living in rural communities and working closely with subsistence and artisanal fishers.

In his role as Coastal Fisheries Scientist, Pete supports the Conservancy’s community partners to sustainably manage their fisheries for simultaneous ecological and economic gains. Pete has assisted the Mwanus Endras Tribal Network in Papua New Guinea with establishing a sustainable sea cucumber fishery and exporting their sustainable products to premium markets in Hong Kong. Pete also conducts research investigating patterns of spatial distribution and larval dispersal of fisheries-targeted species.

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Follow that Grouper: What Migration Data Tell Us About Locally Managed Marine Conservation

Pete’s research shows that minimal expansions to community-based protected areas in Melanesia can greatly enhance protection of fish populations, including the brown-marbled grouper.   

Sustainable Sea Cucumbers: Saving the “Gold Bars” of the Ocean

Overfishing forced Papua New Guinea to close its sea cucumber fishery for nearly a decade. As fishing resumes, Pete is working with local communities to link sea cucumber conservation with livelihood improvements for people.

Visit Pete’s Google Scholar Profile for a full list of publications.

2016

Waldie, P.A., Almany, G.R., Sinclair‐Taylor, T.H., Hamilton, R.J., Potuku, T., Priest, M.A., Rhodes, K.L., Robinson, J., Cinner, J.E., & Berumen, M.L. (2016). Restricted grouper reproductive migrations support community‐based management. Royal Society Open Science. 3(3):150694.

2015

Cortesi, F., Feeney, W.E., Ferrari, M.C.O., Waldie, P.A., Phillips, G.C., McClure, E.C., Sköld, H.N., Salzburger, W., Marshall, N.J., & Cheney, K.L. (2015). Phenotypic Plasticity Confers Multiple Fitness Benefits to a Mimic. Current Biology, 25, 1-6.

2014

Robinson, J., Graham, N.A.J., Cinner, J.E., Almany, G.R., & Waldie, P.A. (2014). Fish and fisher behavior influence the vulnerability of groupers (Epinephelidae) to fishing at a multispecies spawning aggregation site. Coral Reefs, 34(2), 371–382.

2011

Waldie, P.A., Blomberg, S.P., Cheney, K.L., Goldizen, A.W., & Grutter, A.S. (2011). Long-Term Effects of the Cleaner Fish Labroides dimidiatus on Coral Reef Fish Communities. PLoS ONE 6(6): e21201. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0021201

Grutter, A.S., Rumney, J.G., Sinclair-Taylor, T., Waldie, P.A., & Franklin, C.E. (2011). Fish mucous cocoons: the ‘mosquito nets’ of the sea. Biology Letters 7(2), doi:10.1098/rsbl.2010.0916

Clague, G.E., Cheney, K.L., Goldizen, A.W., McCormick, M.I., Waldie, P.A. & Grutter, A.S. (2011). Long-term cleaner fish presence affects growth of a coral reef fish. Biology. Letters, doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2011.0458