Dr Pablo Arenas Fuentes, appointed Director General of INAPESCA in January 2015, was a Biologist at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) in 1976 were he graduated in the top of his class. He was also a Master of Sciences with Natural Resources Management and Population Ecology at UNAM in 1978. In 1988 he obtained a PhD in Fisheries Management from the University of Washington, Seattle, USA. He began his professional career at INAPESCA in 1977.
He has over 30 years of national and international experience in fishery resources assessment and management; the conservation of natural resources, population dynamics policies with analytical approaches, research coordination, sustainable development and industrial and inshore fisheries. This experience has allowed him to represent Mexico in many forums and promote international agreements for the management, conservation and sustainable development of fisheries, including issues on mammals and sea turtles.
Twice in 18 years he was a principal scientific researcher at the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC), in La Jolla, Ca, USA; coordinator and ecological-fishing activities analyst on climate change at NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) in Washington, D.C.; Coordinator of the Mexico-United States Joint Programme on the Assessment of Pacific Small Pelagic Species; and before his time at INAPESCA, he held the position of Coordinator of the TNC (The Nature Conservancy) Marine Initiative for the Gulf of California and the North Pacific.
He has been a thesis adviser for Bachelors, Masters and Doctorates at UNAM, a Director at the Marine Sciences Inter-Disciplinary Center (CICIMAR) and at the Ensenada Centre for Higher Education and Scientific Research (CICESE). He is a member of professional associations, technical groups and editorial boards and has written more than 50 scientific and technical publications on fisheries, ecology and conservation.
He served as the Director General of Research Assessment and Management of Fisheries Resources at the National Fisheries Institute (INAPESCA) from 1995 to 2000, where he was responsible for technical strategies in the tuna embargo resolution (tuna-dolphin problem). He was research coordinator for the first National Fisheries Charter and the book "Sustainability and Responsible Fisheries in Mexico" as well as being in charge of conservation strategies for fisheries, marine mammals and marine turtles.
He has received several awards throughout his career, including the 'National Award in Marine Ecology and Conservation' that he received in 1988.
We look forward to welcoming him as chairman of the Conference in March next year.
