Dr Sainsbury’s background is marine ecology and mathematical modelling. In 2004 he was awarded the Japan Prize for sustainable management of continental shelf ecosystems. He was a Senior Principal Research Scientist at CSIRO till 2006. There he led programs on sustainable fisheries and integrated management of marine ecosystems. These included fisheries from abalone to multispecies, and ecosystems involving petrochemical, aquaculture, tourism, conservation, and fisheries industries. He was vice-chair of the Board for the Marine Stewardship Council (2005-2014), chaired the FAO process for the Ecosystem Approach to Fishery Management, and a Commissioner with the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (2004-2020).