Alan T. Critchley grew up in Birmingham, UK. In 1981, he graduated with a PhD from Portsmouth Polytechnic, now University, in marine ecology. He was based at the university’s Hayling Marine Laboratory, Ferry Road studying the invasion of the brown seaweed Sargassum muticum. This was followed by a Royal Society European Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Delta Institute, Yerseke, the Netherlands also looking at invasives in coastal waters and construction areas there. He moved to South Africa to teach as a Lecturer in Cryptogamic Botany in the Botany Department of the University of KwaZulu- Natal, Pietermaritzburg (7 years), and then as Senior Lecturer/Ass. Prof. at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (10 years). He researched sub-tropical seaweeds to the east and cold- water, upwelling-influenced species to the west and developed a much keener interest in seaweed benefits and their applications. His work there with Klaus Rotmann of Taurus Chemicals was the start of a career moving towards cultivation and applications of various types of seaweeds.Furthermore, a major influence and start of a life-long collaboration was with Professor M. Ohno of Kochi University, Usa, Japan, at first to co-edit volumes of Seaweed Cultivation and Marine Ranching and Seaweed Resources of the World. In 1998, he moved to the University of Namibia, Windhoek, to become a Research Professor at the Multidisciplinary Research and Consultancy Centre; seaweeds and their uses were at the centre of a number of novel projects there. In 2001, he made the transition from academia to the commercial world. The call of alginate and carrageenan-bearing seaweeds took him to Normandy, France, and a processing facility, then operated by Degussa Texturant Systems, to be in charge of their New Raw Materials Laboratory. It was at that time that his passion for the Kappaphycus and Eucheuma spp seaweeds, their biology, production, utilization, and socio-economic importance was fostered. It was here that he was most fortunate to begin collaborative research with Dr. Anicia Q. Hurtado. In 2005, he moved to Nova Scotia, Canada, to work with a small seaweed processing company. This role involved the management of multi- disciplinary, collaborative projects based on commercial seaweeds (browns and reds). Ensuring sustainable production techniques for seaweed resources and the scientific, peer-reviewed validation of biostimulant and bioactive properties of extracts was a major focus. Carrageenophyte seaweeds continued as a research focus. It was through these activities that Dr. Iain C. Neish and Alan were introduced. A common goal led Anne, Iain, and Alan to co-edit Tropical Seaweed Farming (2017) and Topical Phyconomy Coalition Development (TPCD): Focus on eucheumatoid seaweeds (2024) both for Springer. Current collation of the broad spectrum of science associated with the Eucheuma seaweeds, their production, processing, applications, and most importantly socio- economic contributions to coastal communities. He helped the Global Seafood Alliance publish its first standard on seaweed cultivation in 2023, and he has been a member of the science advisors for the Global Seaweed Coalition and also the Global Seaweed Super Star and Seaweed Protect projects. Alan is an associate editor for the Journal of Applied Phycology.Anicia Q. Hurtado was a Senior Scientist at the Aquaculture Department, Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC-AQD), Tigbauan, Iloilo, Philippines for more than 20 years. She spearheaded the Seaweed Program of AQD during her entire career at the Center. She is at present the Chair of the Integrated Services for the Development of Aquaculture and Fisheries (ISDA Inc.), an organization of past and present scientists of SEAFDEC-AQD. She finished her Doctor of Agriculture (Phycology) at Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan in 1988 as a Monbusho scholar. She was and still involved in different seaweed engagements like: GCRF-UKRI GlobalSeaweed* Project, as the Developing Country Partner (Phil.) (Oct 2017- Dec 2021) on the ‘Sustainability of Seaweed Aquaculture in the Developing Countries’ at the University of the Philippines Visayas, Miag-ao Iloilo; Evaluator- International Research Proposal (5); Member - Graduate School Thesis Committee, Local and International (8); Member, Journal Editorial Board (6); Referee/Reviewer, Scientific Journals (18); Senior and Co-author of Books (4); Senior and Co-author Book Chapter (19); Author, Monographs/Brochures/Training Manual/Flyers/Posters (22); Senior and co-author in Peer-reviewed journals (82); Senior and Co-author of Proceedings/Magazines/Newsletter/Terminal Reports (20); Consultant/Technical Adviser to several international agencies; Plenary, resource speaker, oral and poster presenter in several national and international seaweed congresses. She was a consultant in several international agencies like WB-IFC, ADB, USAID, AusAID, Cargill, ZSL Phil., GTZ, UNIDO, and national agencies like DA-BFAR, PDAP, and Aboitiz, working directly with seaweed farmers in Mindanao and the Visayas in relation to micropropagation (tissue culture), strain selection, farm operations and aquaculture, diseaseand infestations of Kappaphycus, Eucheuma and Gracilaria. She is a member of the UK International Peer Review College since February 2018 to the present as a reviewer of Proposals submitted for possible funding by UKRI-GCRF. She is one of the Fellow members of the European Algae Biomass Association (EABA) since Oct 2020 to the present with a VIP status for her significant contributions to the algae sector, a clear recognition of her works in promoting the sector. She is a member of the Executive Committee of the International Society of Applied Phycology. Above all, her unwavering and undaunting passion for seaweeds directly working with the seaweed farmers is her priceless gem on her belt.Iain Charles Neish is a Canadian from Nova Scotia who has worked in seaweed aquaculture since 1965. In doing so he has followed the path of his father Arthur Charles Neish. He first experienced tropical conditions in Oman and Indonesia during 1973-74. Since 1977 he has lived and worked full time on small holder phyconomy development, integrated aquaculture and process + product development in Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia and other tropical venues. He is currently based on Olango Island near Cebu City, Philippines where he focuses on applying ecosystem approaches to restoration of seafolk enterprises in formerly prolific seaweed production areas that have failed in the wake of natural disasters and tragedy of the commons.Leonel Pereira holds a degree in Biology (scientific branch) and a PhD in Biology with a specialization in Cell Biology from the Faculty of Science and Technology of the University of Coimbra (Portugal), where he is currently Associate Professor with Habilitation. He is also an integrated researcher at the Centre for Functional Ecology (CFE – Science for People & Planet). His scientific interests focus on Marine Biodiversity, particularly macroalgae, Marine Biotechnology with emphasis on bioactive compounds from algae, and Marine Ecology, especially environmental assessment of coastal and estuarine systems. Since 2008, he has been the author and editor of MACOI – Portuguese Seaweeds, a widely used digital resource on the marine flora of Portugal. He is the author/editor of more than 25 books and 91 book chapters, has published over 180 scientific articles in international peer reviewed journals. Throughout his career, he has delivered more than one hundred lectures and oral communications at national and international scientific events. His contributions to marine science have been recognized with several distinctions, including the Francisco de Holanda Prize (Honorable Mention, 1998), the King D. Carlos Award (18th edition), and the CHOICE Award – Outstanding Academic Title 2016 for his book Edible Seaweeds of the World (CRC Press). He has also been included in the World’s Top 2% Scientists 2021-2025 list released by Stanford University and Elsevier, recognizing his global scientific impact and research excellence.
