Adam Ziyad is a PhD student at the Australian National Center for Ocean Resources and Security (ANCORS). The focus of his PhD research is on the efficacy of Regional Fisheries Management Organizations with a specific focus on the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) and the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC).

Ziyad works for the Government of the Maldives at the Ministry of Fisheries and has over 20 years of experience in fisheries resource management and regulatory oversight roles. He has served as the Head of Delegation of the Maldives to the IOTC for over five years and is currently the Chairperson of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission. Ziyad has also served on the board of the Baa Atoll UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and was a member of the Committee that negotiated the China – Maldives Free Trade Agreement and has also worked with the Maldives tuna fishing industry to ensure the timely implementation of regulatory requirements related to Marine Stewardship Council certification.

Ziyad holds a MSc in Coastal and Marine Resource Management a BSc in Applied Science (Fisheries).

Ziyad has extensive experience in Indian Ocean tuna fisheries and has been the Vice Chair of the IOTC and the Commissioner from the Maldives to the IOTC since 2018. He has been actively involved in the allocation negotiations currently underway in the IOTC and the formulation of other key CMMs of the Commission. Apart from the IOTC, Ziyad has also represented the Maldives in meetings of the FAO, Bay of Bengal Programme – IGO, and the Infofish, and has been involved in the negotiations of the trade agreements between the Maldives and other parties.

Ziyad has a master’s degree in Coastal and Marine Resource Management.

Dr. Bianca Haas is a senior research fellow with the Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security. Her research focuses on equitable management of transboundary fisheries, especially the tuna fishery in the western and central Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean. Specifically, Bianca is engaging in projects relating to the Agreement for Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdictions, small-scale fisheries, crew welfare, and capacity building. Although having grown up in a landlocked country, Bianca is very passionate about the ocean.

Dr Constance Rambourg is a Research Fellow at the Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security (ANCORS), University of Wollongong. Her research expertise lies in marine conservation and fisheries law and policy, with a particular focus on marine protected areas and transboundary fisheries governance. She is currently working on an Australian Research Council-funded project to develop a legal and policy framework for cost-effective remote sensing to support maritime enforcement in Pacific Island countries. She is also contributing to a project on the future of high seas fisheries, exploring pathways for reform to enhance sustainability. Constance recently completed her PhD at ANCORS, which examined the intersections of colonialism and the implementation of large-scale marine protected areas in overseas territories. She previously lectured in Ocean Development and Conservation at the University of Wollongong and is returning as its course coordinator in 2026.

Dominique Benzaken is a senior policy advisor specialized in ocean governance, blue economy, and blue finance. She has 20 years’ experience working with governments, inter-governmental organizations and non-government organisations to develop policies and build capacity to advance the conservation and sustainable development of the ocean nationally and internationally, mainly in the context of Small Island Developing States of the Indo pacific region.

Some recent collaborations include the financing mechanisms for blue economy in Mozambique, regional sustainability governance for the Red Sea and the development of Seychelles blue economy roadmap. She was previously a senior marine policy advisor with The Nature Conservancy, The International Union for Conservation of Nature and the Secretariat of the Pacific Environment Programme, following a formative career with the Australian Government and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority.

As a PhD candidate with the Australian National Centre for Ocean resources and Security, her research interests are focused on enabling a sustainable and equitable blue economy through good governance and equitable financing. She is a Visiting Fellow with the Crawford School of Public Policy at the Australian National University, a senior advisor to the Ocean Assets Institute and the Global Island Partnership and a member of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas. She is an outdoor enthusiast and a vintage fashion addict.

Dr. Ina Tessnow-von Wysocki was an Ocean Nexus Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security (ANCORS), based at the University of Wollongong from 2024-2026. Her research on international ocean governance in areas beyond national jurisdiction focuses on ocean equity with regards to multi-jurisdictional coherence of fisheries, deep-sea mining and marine biodiversity governance.

She holds a B.A. in Politics, International Relations and Asian Studies from Griffith University, Australia, a M.A. of International Relations from the joint program at Humboldt University Berlin, Freie University and University of Potsdam, Germany and a PhD in Political Science from the University of Vienna, Austria. Her professional experience includes climate and foreign policy with the German government, the GIZ, and NGOs, in Europe, North America, Oceania and Latin America. She completed her PhD in the ERC project MARIPOLDATA on science–policy interfaces for ocean protection within the United Nations negotiations on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ). She is currently a BBNJ consultant for the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO.

Ina cares about humans’ relationship with nature to recognise the environment and future generations in governance decisions. She loves spending time at the ocean with scuba diving, surfing, sailing, beach walks and watching sunrises and sunsets.