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Colin Brannen
Aquaculture Program Officer – Molluscs
Aquaculture Program
Education
- MA - International Environmental Policy/Marine Conservation, Monterey Institute of International Studies
- BS - Biology, Boston College
Areas of Expertise
- Designing and managing sustainable aquaculture projects
- Building cooperative partnerships with government agencies, corporations and local communities to promote conservation, sustainable development and health
- Working with multi-stakeholder groups to build consensus about aquaculture certification programs
- Identifying and minimizing the social and environmental impacts of aquaculture
- Economics and biological science
“Mollusc aquaculture is the most sustainable type of aquaculture and I want to make sure it stays that way, especially since I love to eat shellfish.”
About Colin Brannen:
Colin Brannen loves the water. As a child, many of his summer days were spent fishing and swimming in the salty waters of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, where he developed a love of the ocean and the tasty critters that inhabit it.
It is no wonder, then, that he is a member of WWF’s aquaculture team – a team that is developing standards to minimize the environmental and social impacts associated with aquaculture. Colin focuses on molluscs (scallops, mussels, clams, oysters and abalone), which, compared to other aquaculture species, have a relatively low impact on the environment. In many regions, these species are actually more helpful than harmful to the environment. At the same time, this type of aquaculture is not without its challenges and Colin is working to address them.
Colin brings to the job the marine conservation and aquaculture skills he learned in school, as well as on-the-ground experience. For example, as a Peace Corps volunteer in Madagascar, he introduced people in his village to seaweed farming, marketing it as an economically viable alternative to fishing and agriculture, which are threatening the region’s natural resources. After graduating from college, he helped spawn and cultivate oysters, bay scallops and quahog clams at a shellfish hatchery in Martha’s Vineyard.
