Vinay is a marine scientist, born in India and grew up in Dubai and New Zealand. Vinay specialises in studying animal movements and distributions as well as understanding how environmental and man made changes may impact threatened species. He completed his PhD at James Cook University, Australia, and has previously worked as a Research Scientist at the Australian Institute of Marine Science. Through his experiences, he has worked on a range of threatened species, from sharks, rays, sea snakes, turtles, whales, fish and even birds, with his work focusing on finding ways to better manage and conserve their populations. A lot of his work has found him working closely with professional fishers and remote indigenous fishing communities finding ways to conserve threatened species while supporting sustainable fishing practices that help preserve local livelihoods. Apart from working on sharks, Vinay is also an expert on sea snakes, and is a co-chair for the IUCN Sea snake specialist group, working on better understanding and conserving that unique group of marine reptiles.
If I were a shark: I would be a Greenland shark, a very slow and calm species that can live up to 250 years because of their demeanour.
My happy place: On a boat in the middle of the Fiords of New Zealand.
When I was a kid: I wanted to be a wildlife vet, working in remote places in Africa and South America.
My favorite books, movies or podcasts: Books – The Martian (Andy Weir), Galapagos (Kurt Vonnegut), Movies – Interstellar, Knives Out
