Martin Purves is a fisheries management and engagement specialist with over 20 years of experience in the field, government, consultancy, market, and non-profit sectors. He has been leading the work of the International Pole and Line Foundation (IPNLF) as Managing Director since 2016.
Martin started his career as a fisheries observer on fishing vessels, later joining scientific cruises as a cruise leader, spending more than three years of his life on fishing vessels of all sizes in the Southern, Indian, Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. He gained further experience as a resource manager at the South African fisheries department, where he represented his country at RFMO meetings. Between his stint as a government scientist and fisheries manager and before establishing and leading the Marine Stewardship Council’s (MSC) Southern Africa Programme for seven years, he worked as a fisheries consultant for MRAG and Capfish. The most demanding job he ever did was to work as a fisher in the Southern Ocean.
