Research and expert groups | Seafish

Research and expert groups

Seafish works with experts in seafood and beyond to coordinate groups that commission and undertake research to support the seafood industry.



Seafish Expert Panel

The aim of the Seafish Expert Panel is to help us with:

  • Commissioning scientific research and to undertake our own research;
  • The presentation, communication and adoption of research findings relevant to the seafood sector;
  • Supporting the industry to determine the information it needs to address business issues; and
  • Providing evidence-based advice to inform policy development and business decision making.

It will operate under a two-tier system with a central hub being supported by an expert committee.

The Central Hub

The central hub is the main engagement point between Seafish and the wider expert group. It provides a bridge between the needs of Seafish and the wider seafood industry and the expert committee. Specifically the central hub of the SEP:

  • Assists us to provide adaptive science support to industry;
  • Provides capability to assist the sector to frame industry issues so that potential solutions can be identified;
  • Assists us to connect industry, government and research institutes to establish a network of expertise with ‘reach’ across the sector;
  • Provides advice and peer review to help guide and improve the quality of our research;
  • Helps deliver the science and innovation actions outlined in the England’s Seafood 2040 (SF2040) strategy the seafood industry ambitions of other UK home nations.

There are two members appointed to the central hub panel at present – see links below for biographies of current panel members. The position of Chair and a position for an individual with expertise in behavioural science are still vacant.

Panel biographies

Dr Steven Mackinson
Dr Steven Mackinson
Chief Scientific Officer
Scottish Pelagic Fishermen’s Association

Working with Canadian herring fishermen in the late 90s, I realised that when science is not well connected with reality, there are missed opportunities for research and management. Ever since, I’ve had a keen interest in building stronger collaboration among scientists, stakeholders and policy - so it was an exciting opportunity to join the SPFA in 2016 as their first Chief Scientific Officer. My role is to bring industry data in to the scientific arena so that it can contribute to the knowledge base underpinning stock assessments and research on changes in the marine environment.  It draws upon my 17 years’ experience at Cefas working on fisheries acoustics, investigating changes in the North Sea food-web, ecosystem modelling and leading the EU-wide science-industry collaborative research projects GAP1 & 2. I’ve been involved with Fishing into the Future since its inception and am currently an Executive Committee member and Trustee.

Liam Fassam
Liam Fassam
University Head of Research for Logistics, Supply Chain and Transportation
University of Northampton

Liam is a thought leader, researcher & implementer of collaborative logistics and supply chain social value solutions, with over 29 years supply chain senior leadership experience.

Engaged as University Head of Research for Logistics, Supply Chain and Transportation, strategically leading impactful research allied to social impacts on societies connection to food logistics and supply chain resilience. In addition, he is Director and founding partner of a Transformational Social Enterprise University spin out business tasked with building social value through logistics and transportation networks.

Research expertise validated through numerous European Commission projects, such as seventh framework project (FP7-SME-2011) delivering subject matter expertise in UK and European rail/road intermodal markets, Horizon 2020 programs TinnGo (Women in transport), MG4.1 [AEOLIX] (Global logistics connectivity & ICT), MG4.4 [SPICE] (Public sector transportation policy) and IND CE 2017 [PolyCE] (Resource efficient circular economy supply chains) alongside UK Government research with the Department for Transport on Smart city transportation and the Government Office of Science delivering intelligence around freight and transportation futures (GO Science).

Also engaged as expert adviser to Seafish (DEFRA) on food supply chain resilience, All Party Sustainable Resource Group in the areas of Supply chain and Food security (APSRG), and Office of the Government Chief Scientific Adviser around freight futures. I am a Fellow of the Royal Geographic Society and appointed to the advisory boards of the Local Government Authority logistics strategy group, Non-Exec Director for SOCIETAL Value CIC, and twice awarded Global social media influencer in the field of Supply Chain Management.

Expert Committee

The central hub panel is supported by a wider expert committee, bringing in additional expertise across a range of areas. A phased recruitment based on priority needs is currently underway and the following eight areas have been identified as the focus for the next 12 months:

  1. Fisheries management
  2. Gear technology
  3. Food supply chain (labour/ethics)
  4. Politics and law (legal framework around fisheries)
  5. Climate change
  6. Animal welfare
  7. Waste management / Circular economy (including plastics)
  8. Automation

Get in touch

Contact us if you would like Seafish Expert Panel assistance or if you think you could be part of our panel of experts.

Dr Angus Garrett
Head of Horizon Scanning and Long Term Issues
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