Our Story
Oceanwise Australia started in 1998 to contribute to the science and conservation of Ningaloo Reef and has helped shape the world class protection the area enjoys today. From these beginnings, we are increasingly contributing our expertise to science-based marine ecosystem management, conservation, and restoration programs in Australia and internationally.
Leadership team
Dr Ben Fitzpatrick
Ben is a director of Oceanwise Australia and draws upon 25 years of experience as a specialist environmental scientist. Areas of expertise include marine biology, ecology, environmental management, ecosystem restoration, fisheries science, nature based solutions, marine fauna surveying, tracking and tagging, ecotourism, environmental impact assessment, and environmental law and policy. He draws on experience contributing to federal and state government research programs, pure and applied multidisciplinary research, environmental management and monitoring programs for the private sector, and increasingly contributing to sustainable socio-economic development and conservation initiatives internationally.
Dr Kristina Heidrich
Kristina is a passionate quantitative marine ecologist and fisheries scientist dedicated to sustainable management and the conservation of species. Working in multidisciplinary teams, utilizing expertise in synthesizing large-scale data sets and employing quantitative tools, she addresses complex questions on environmental sustainability. She is highly experienced in spatial analysis, data manipulation, statistical analyses and visualization (e.g., GIS software, compiling interactive dashboards, and data visualization libraries) and proficient in using software such as R and Python to perform data analysis. She is skilled at conveying scientific findings in a clear and accessible manner through informative and visually appealing representation of data. Throughout her career she has worked on multiple different projects where she analyzed, synthesized, and presented various types of biological, environmental, and fisheries data.
Associates
We draw on a large pool of closely held experts, graduates, and operations personnel, depending on the needs of the work at hand.
