Scott A. Eckert

Bio and Research:

Dr. Scott Eckert has been active for more than two decades in the field of pelagic marine vertebrate research and conservation, focusing largely on sea turtles. He is a foremost authority in the study of leatherback sea turtles, particularly in understanding the important role these wide ranging oceanic reptiles play in the marine environment. He pioneered the use of microelectronics to study sea turtles, was the first to have successfully used satellite telemetry to study the long-term movements and behaviors of leatherbacks and whale sharks, and was also the first to make the connection between the collapse of major sea turtle nesting aggregations and distant commercial fishing activity. In 1984 he received the United States Department of Commerce's National Marine Fisheries Service Recognition Award for "outstanding efforts in sea turtle conservation". In 1989 he received his Ph.D. in Zoology from the University of Georgia. His dissertation was entitled, "Diving and Foraging Behavior of the Leatherback Sea Turtle (Dermochelys coriacea)." He held a postdoctoral research appointment at the Physiological Research Laboratory of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at University of California, San Diego before joining the National Marine Fisheries Service as Chairman of the U.S. Pacific Marine Turtle Recovery Team. Currently Dr. Eckert is the Director of Research for the Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Conservation Network at Duke University’s Marine Laboratory in Beaufort, North Carolina. His research on sea turtles and other large oceanic vertebrates, including whale sharks, has taken him to field sites throughout the tropical world as well as two seasons in Antarctica (studying the diving behavior and physiology of Weddell seals and Emperor penguins). Dr. Eckert has published more than 100 scientific and general interest articles and has served as a consultant to various government agencies and non-government groups, including the World Trade Organization and the U.S. Oceans Commission. He is a member of the Marine Turtle Specialist Group of the IUCN Species Survival Commission, and Editor Emeritus of the globally distributed Marine Turtle Newsletter. As Director of Science for WIDECAST, Dr. Eckert provides important expertise to WIDECAST’s affiliates and the governments of the wider Caribbean Sea on sea turtle management and conservation. His current research is focused on reducing the effects of the accidental mortality of marine turtles by commercial fisheries, and on determining the link between marine turtles and oceanic habitats. He also maintains a long-term series of studies on the leatherback sea turtle nesting colonies of the Caribbean island of Trinidad.