William Arlidge

I am broadly interested in studying how people interact with aquatic environments. Most of the research I have been involved in to date has focused on fisheries management, spanning small-scale, large-scale, and recreational fisheries. I draw on meta-analysis, statistical modelling, and mixed-methods survey analysis to understand how institutions, stakeholder perceptions, and policy interventions shape conservation outcomes. I have also been involved in research focused on biodiversity goal and target setting.

I hold a DPhil in Zoology from the University of Oxford, and an MSc and BSc from Victoria University of Wellington. For more than 15 years I have worked across academic, government, NGO, and consultancy settings, spanning Australasia, Asia, the Americas, and Europe. I am currently a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Community-Based Fisheries Co-Management, funded by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation through the Wildlife Conservation Society and James Cook University, where I am co-managing a global assessment of fisheries co-management with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

Prior to my current role, I worked on the marEEchange project at the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, in Berlin, Germany, investigating shifts in fishing effort, target species, management preferences, and perceptions of stock health in recreational fishers following the collapse of the western Baltic cod fishery. Prior to that, I held an Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellowship, also based at the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries in Berlin, where I undertook research on information-sharing networks in coastal fisheries, as well as developing ideas on situational social influence leading to non-compliance in nature conservation contexts. 

To explore my research in more detail please see my Google Scholar or ResearchGate webpages.