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Austin Gallagher

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Austin Gallagher
Born
Boston
NationalityAmerican
CitizenshipUnited States of America
EducationUniversity of Miami, Northeastern University, Loyola University Maryland
Alma materThayer Academy
Occupation(s)Marine biologist, entrepreneur
Organization(s)Beneath The Waves, The Explorer's Club (fellow)
Known forConservation work
Board member ofEditorial board of the Endangered Species Research journal[1]
AwardsForbes 30 Under 30 list, 2016, Fulbright (distinguished professor)[2]
Websitewww.austingallagher.com

Austin Gallagher is an American marine biologist, explorer, author and social entrepreneur, best known for his research on sharks. He is the founder and CEO of Beneath The Waves,[3] a non-profit organization focusing on ocean conservation.[4] He is a National Geographic Explorer, has been the lead on more than 50 global scientific expeditions, and has published over 125 scientific papers[5] spanning research on the migrations of ocean giants, deep-sea exploration, and marine policy.

His research has directly informed policy for threatened species,[6] protected area design, and climate change mitigation in numerous countries. He was a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree in the science category, and a Fulbright scholar and distinguished professor.[7][8][9] He is a current fellow of the Explorers Club.

Early life and education

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After graduating from Thayer Academy near his home city of Boston in 2004, Gallagher moved to Baltimore to attend Loyola University Maryland where he majored in biology and minored in journalism, graduating in 2008.[10] From 2008 to 2009, he obtained a master's in marine science from Northeastern University as part of the Three Seas Program.[11][12]  In 2010, he began his doctoral degree in environmental science from the University of Miami, studying shark physiology and behavior, ultimately finishing in 2015.[13]

Career

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During his masters and doctoral research years, he founded Beneath The Waves, initially created as a platform for inspiring effective storytelling in the marine science community. From 2010-2013, Gallagher molded Beneath The Waves into an event series that brought together scientists, filmmakers, and the general public, licensing the brand and event series to over 40 institutes from 25 countries.[14][15] In 2014, Gallagher incorporated Beneath the Waves as a non-profit organization in the United States, creating a more expansive mission that included research activities.[16]

From 2015 – 2017, he worked as a postdoctoral research fellowship at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada under the supervision of Dr. Steven Cooke.[17] In 2018, he began working full time at Beneath the Waves as its Chief Scientist. In 2021, Gallagher assumed the role as CEO, focusing his efforts on setting the high-level scientific strategy and executing impactful partnerships.[18]

Gallagher sits on the editorial board of the scientific journal Endangered Species Research and is the Specialty Chief Editor and co-founder of the "Discoveries" section of the journal Frontiers in Marine Science.

He has held formal adjunct professorship positions at The University of Exeter (UK), Northeastern University (USA), and University of Miami (USA). Through these universities, he has mentored over 25 graduate (MS and PhD) students.[19]

Gallagher is a frequent host, wildlife presenter, and talent for Discovery Channel and Shark Week,[20][21] and he has also appeared on Nat Geo Wild.[22]

Scientific Impact

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Gallagher is a broadly-trained biologist focusing on studying survival in marine animals.[23] He is a world authority on sharks,[24][25] conducting research aimed at advancing our understanding of their behavior and physiology, and using this information to create protected areas.[26][27] To date he has published over 120 peer-reviewed scientific articles, and he has presented his work at numerous institutions including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and National Geographic. He has been credited as being one of the first scientists to demonstrate that sharks were worth more alive for tourism than dead for fishing,[28] and has emerged at the forefront of various branches of marine science, most notably shark research.[29]

In 2015 he led the first ever multi-national expedition to study sharks in Japan, which was featured as the cover story of the February 2016 issue of Outside Magazine[30] and covered by GoPro.

In 2016, he spearheaded a shark and fishing boat tracking initiative Global Fishing Watch, in partnership with Oceana, Google, and SkyTruth.

In 2017, he led the science on the BVI Art Reef,[31] a collaborative project with Sir Richard Branson that sunk a derelict WWII ship for the purposes of establishing an artificial reef to restore overfished species in the British Virgin Islands.[32][33]  

In 2018 he began investing heavily in The Bahamas as a research locality, with a project evaluating the benefits of large protected areas for sharks.[34]  producing the first publication on the long-term movements of sharks within a shark sanctuary,[35] the first records of harmful metal concentrations in sharks from the region,[36] the first application of 360-degree camera technology to marine species,[37] and the first description of the genome of the Caribbean reef shark.[38] The Bahamas work led by Beneath the Waves has generated significant press and has been featured in Forbes, Scientific American, and on Sir Richard Branson's Virgin blog.[39][40][41][42][43][44]

From 2019 - 2020, Gallagher began significantly expanding his research footprint throughout the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean, and began producing several “first-ever” discoveries for the study of the ocean, including the description of likely-new species of bonnethead shark off Panama,[45] the first global assessment of shark and fishing vessel movements, the first video recordings and imagery of the sharpnose sevengill shark (at 2200 feet deep),[46] the first published science on the potential ecological effects of white sharks in the Atlantic,[47] and the first record of sawfish in Biscayne Bay, Miami, Florida.[48]

In 2020, Gallagher began working closely with Dr. Carlos Duarte, recognized as one of the world’s top marine scientists and most-influential scientists (of all disciplines), whom inspired Gallagher’s research expansion into blue carbon. Through a unique partnership with tagged tiger sharks, Gallagher and Duarte discovered the world’s largest seagrass meadow in The Bahamas, estimated to be up to 93,000 square kilometers.

In 2021, Gallagher led the first expedition to study deep-sea fish fauna off Turks and Caicos. From 2021, Gallagher served as the co-Principal Investigator on two multi-year Darwin Plus projects,[49] funded by the government of the United Kingdom, to study the deep-water biodiversity of Bermuda and The Cayman Islands.[50]

Entrepreneurship

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Gallagher has helped activate Beneath the Waves into a variety of influential communities and pop-culture events, including Summit Series, the 1 Hotel, Tortuga Music Festival, and Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival. He has worked with the Grand Isle Resort and Spa[51] in Great Exuma, Bahamas, to expose visitors of the resort to hands-on shark tagging research, thus creating a sustainable business model for funding ocean research.[52] In 2017 he co-founded a beverage startup called Tempo,[53] which produces plant-based, functional, and clean beverages for the modern consumer, whose products were sold in Whole Foods Market in the midwestern United States.[54][55]

Notable Accomplishments

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In 2016, Gallagher became the first American marine biologist to make the Forbes 30 Under 30 List, at the age of 29.[8] He was also the only conservation biologist on the list in 2016. From 2016-2017 he served as a member of the Forbes Non Profit Council.[56] In April 2016 he was awarded the Loyola University Young Alumni Award,[57] and in the same month he gave a TEDx talk in San Diego, California, on facing your fears to change the world.[58]

In 2019, Gallagher became a Fulbright distinguished professor.

In 2021, Gallagher was awarded Scuba Diving Magazine’s Sea Hero Award.[59]

In 2023, Gallagher was awarded Blue Marine Foundation's Ocean Hero Award, winning in the "Science" category.[60]

References

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  1. ^ "Inter Research » Journals » ESR » Editors". www.int-res.com.
  2. ^ "2018-2019 American Fulbright Scholars".
  3. ^ "The Time For Ocean Conservation is Now". Beneath The Waves.
  4. ^ "First encounters of the close kind—with sharks". Retrieved 2016-09-23.
  5. ^ "Austin Gallagher". scholar.google.com. Retrieved 2022-04-11.
  6. ^ Gallagher, Austin J.; Hammerschlag, Neil; Shiffman, David S.; Giery, Sean T. (2014-07-01). "Evolved for Extinction: The Cost and Conservation Implications of Specialization in Hammerhead Sharks". BioScience. 64 (7): 619–624. doi:10.1093/biosci/biu071. ISSN 0006-3568.
  7. ^ "Recent American Fulbright Scholars". Fulbright Canada. Retrieved 2022-04-11.
  8. ^ a b "30 Under 30 2016: Science". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-04-11.
  9. ^ "Alumnus named to Forbes' '30 Under 30' list | news @ Northeastern". www.northeastern.edu. 8 February 2016. Retrieved 2016-09-23.
  10. ^ Buettner, Rita (28 November 2017). "From tiger sharks to tea". www.loyola.edu. Retrieved 2022-04-12.
  11. ^ "Could stressed out sharks save more fish?". News @ Northeastern. 2009-10-01. Retrieved 2022-04-12.
  12. ^ "Alumnus named to Forbes' '30 Under 30' list". News @ Northeastern. 2016-02-08. Retrieved 2022-04-12.
  13. ^ "Austin Gallagher". alumni.miami.edu. Retrieved 2022-04-12.
  14. ^ SouthFlorida.com, Barbara Corbellini Duarte (August 2014). "Beneath the Waves Film Festival screens globally, acts locally". sun-sentinel.com. Retrieved 2022-04-12.
  15. ^ "Beneath the Waves Film Festival, The Loft Cinema". The Loft Cinema. 2015-08-26. Retrieved 2022-04-12.
  16. ^ "Our Mission: Advance Conservation". Beneath The Waves. Retrieved 2022-04-12.
  17. ^ "Austin Gallagher". www.fecpl.ca. Retrieved 2022-04-12.
  18. ^ "We Believe in Our Oceans. Meet the Team". Beneath The Waves. Retrieved 2022-04-12.
  19. ^ "Dt Austin Gallagher's Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 2022-04-12.
  20. ^ "Tiger Shark King". Retrieved 2022-04-12.
  21. ^ "Experience Sharks with Beneath The Waves". Discovery Com. Retrieved 2022-04-12.
  22. ^ TV, NatGeo. "National Geographic WILD - Sharks of The Bermuda Triangle". www.natgeotv.com. Retrieved 2022-04-12.
  23. ^ "Home". Dr. Austin Gallagher. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  24. ^ "Are South Africa's great white sharks really 'dying out'? | Sharks | Earth Touch News". Earth Touch News Network. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  25. ^ Shiffman, David. "Shark Riders Pose Threat to Conservation Gains Made with Diving Ecotourism [Slide Show]". Scientific American. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  26. ^ "Alert Diver". Divers Alert Network. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  27. ^ "Touching A Great White Is A Really, Really Stupid Thing To Do". IFLScience. 28 January 2016. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  28. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20151220052558/https://www.rsmas.miami.edu/assets/Gallagher_and_Hammerschlag_2011_SharkEcotourism.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 December 2015. Retrieved 2022-04-25. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  29. ^ "Austin Gallagher". scholar.google.com. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  30. ^ "Mark Healey Is the Greatest Athlete You've Never Heard Of". Outside Online. 2016-02-29. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  31. ^ Reef, Beyond The. "Beyond The Reef". Beyond The Reef. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  32. ^ Billock, Jennifer (2017-03-08). "New Caribbean Dive Site: A Ship That Survived Pearl Harbor". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  33. ^ "Richard Branson Is Transforming a Pearl Harbor Boat Into a Cool New Diving Spot – Travel News". Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  34. ^ Gallagher, Austin J.; Shipley, Oliver N.; van Zinnicq Bergmann, Maurits P. M.; Brownscombe, Jacob W.; Dahlgren, Craig P.; Frisk, Michael G.; Griffin, Lucas P.; Hammerschlag, Neil; Kattan, Sami; Papastamatiou, Yannis P.; Shea, Brendan D. (2021). "Spatial Connectivity and Drivers of Shark Habitat Use Within a Large Marine Protected Area in the Caribbean, The Bahamas Shark Sanctuary". Frontiers in Marine Science. 7. doi:10.3389/fmars.2020.608848. hdl:10754/667565. ISSN 2296-7745.
  35. ^ "SAVE OUR SHARKS: Beneath the Waves on Expedition in the Bahamas Shark Sanctuary". OCEANSCAPES. 20 January 2019. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  36. ^ "Sharks found with dangerously high levels of heavy metals in The Caribbean". DCNA. 2021-01-25. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  37. ^ Gallagher, Austin J.; Alsudairy, Nourah A.; Shea, Brendan D.; Payne, Nicholas L.; Duarte, Carlos M. (2021). "First Application of 360-Degree Camera Technology to Marine Predator Bio-Logging". Frontiers in Marine Science. 8. doi:10.3389/fmars.2021.707376. hdl:10754/670533. ISSN 2296-7745.
  38. ^ Gallagher, Austin J.; Shipley, Oliver N.; Reese, Bo; Singh, Vijender (2021). "Complete mitochondrial genome of the Caribbean reef shark, Carcharhinus perezi (Carcharhinformes: Carcharhinidae)". Mitochondrial DNA Part B. 6 (9): 2662–2664. doi:10.1080/23802359.2021.1964394. ISSN 2380-2359. PMC 8381894. PMID 34435112.
  39. ^ "The sanctuary model crucial for protecting sharks". Ocean Unite. 2019-03-11. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  40. ^ Márquez, Melissa Cristina. "A Holiday With Teeth: How You Can Help Sharks While On Vacation". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  41. ^ Márquez, Melissa Cristina. "Can Scientists, Entrepreneurs, And The Private Sector Come Together To Save Sharks?". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  42. ^ Márquez, Melissa Cristina. "The Tale Of The Shark That Swam The Whole World- Well, Sort Of". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  43. ^ Hettermann, Kristin. "Save the Sharks!". Scientific American Blog Network. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  44. ^ Shiffman, David. "Shark Riders Pose Threat to Conservation Gains Made with Diving Ecotourism [Slide Show]". Scientific American. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  45. ^ WavesPhD, Austin J. GallagherBeneath the. "Austin GALLAGHER | Chief Scientist | PhD". ResearchGate. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  46. ^ Phillips, Brennan; Shipley, Oliver; Halvorsen, Jason; Sternlicht, James; Gallagher, Austin (2019-01-01). "First in situ observations of the sharpnose sevengill shark (Heptranchias perlo), from the Tongue of the Ocean, Bahamas". Journal of the Ocean Science Foundation. 32: 17–22. doi:10.5281/zenodo.2539708.
  47. ^ MYERS, K. C. "Brewster presentation to explore shark history". Cape Cod Times. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  48. ^ Fisheries, NOAA (2020-12-21). "Endangered Smalltooth Sawfish Rediscovered in Biscayne Bay | NOAA Fisheries". NOAA. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  49. ^ "BIOS Receives U.K. Grant to Study Deep-sea Marine Life | Currents | BIOS - Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences". www.bios.edu. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  50. ^ admin (July 2021). "Beneath the Waves Receives Major Funding to Study Deep-Sea Life in the Caribbean | ABNewswire" (Press release). Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  51. ^ "Grand Isle Resort | A Luxury Beach Resort in Exuma, Bahamas". Grand Isle Resort.
  52. ^ Springer, Bill. "Bahamas Resort Offers Guests A Chance To Tag Sharks In the Wild (For Science)". Forbes. Retrieved 2019-06-12.
  53. ^ "Product". Tempo Sparkling Tea. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
  54. ^ Gallagher, Austin. "Why Organizations Should Work With Beverage Brands (And How They Can Find Partnerships)". Forbes. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
  55. ^ "The new playbook for smart corporate environmental responsibility programs". New Hope Network. 2018-02-12. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
  56. ^ "Austin Gallagher - Forbes Nonprofit Council". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
  57. ^ "Austin Gallagher - Alumni - Loyola University Maryland". www.loyola.edu. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
  58. ^ Face Your Fears. Amazing Things Await. | Austin Gallagher | TEDxYouth@SanDiego, retrieved 2022-04-23
  59. ^ "Austin Gallagher Receives Sea Hero Honors for Shark Conservation Work". Scuba Diving. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
  60. ^ "2023 Ocean Awards Winners". May 10, 2023.
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