Haseeb Randhawa

I was born and raised in Montreal, Canada and completed my BSc in Zoology at McGill University. During my degree, Parasitology was my favourite class and I became fascinated with parasites. Parasitism is the most successful evolutionary adaptation on the planet with more than half the species on Earth having adopted parasitism as a means of life. Simply fascinating! Then, I decided to pursue a MSc in Parasitology at the Institute of Parasitology (McGill University) describing the parasite communities of four skate species in the northwest Atlantic Ocean. During this time, my passion for sharks and skates developed and I continued to nurture my interest in parasites. Combining the best of two worlds, I went on to complete a PhD at the University of New Brunswick (Canada) where I studied the determinants of host specificity in skate parasites in the northern Atlantic Ocean. During the latter stages of my studies, I had the opportunity to join a research cruise in the Falkland Islands to work on the parasite communities of skates off the Falkland Shelf. I completed four years of postdoctoral work at the University of Otago in New Zealand investigating the drivers of parasite diversity and host specificity in sharks and skates. Prior to taking on my current role as fisheries scientist for the Falkland Islands Government, I worked as a Senior Teaching Fellow for the Ecology Degree Programme at the University of Otago for nearly five years. Over the past few years, I have been collaborating with members of the Falkland Islands Fisheries Department on various projects, primarily on using otolith microchemistry to differentiate between different commercial fish stocks; an important aspect in recruiting me to the Department. However, knowledge of parasites in the Falkland Islands Shelf ecosystem, especially those of squid (the main fisheries we manage), is essential to develop an ecosystem-based management approach to fisheries.

May 2016