Karen Leask, M.Sc.

Karen has been involved in shellfish aquaculture and fisheries, research and training for more than ten years. Her experiences have tied together a familiarity with academic and industrial workplaces with capabilities in research, teaching, training and technical writing. Her direct industry experience includes the operation of an oyster and phytoplankton nursery.

Karen has been employed as a teacher, a trainer, a professor, an instructor, and a curriculum and teaching materials developer. Familiarity with this wide spectrum of teaching arenas has earned her the ability to move between the tradition academic lecture hall and remote communities for on-site training. This has included training specifically relevant to First Nations communities, practical shellfish nursery methods and clam survey methods, and academic lectures and laboratory activities in fisheries and aquaculture.

The opportunity to work as a project manager and advisor to the National Integrated Protected Areas Program in the Philippines enabled Karen to gain first hand knowledge of effective mechanisms for developing local management strategies for marine areas, within the context of national and international concerns. It also allowed her to develop skills for adapting classical fisheries management tools to local management needs, including survey methods, information gathering and dissemination for fisheries and vulnerable areas management, and aquaculture development with fisher folk communities within a national protected area.

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