Management

Introducing the Team

The Devon Maritime Forum  is run by a small, dedicated team that  answers to over 750 members representing over 250 organisations across all maritime sectors in Devon, the South West and beyond.

Forum Chair: Prof. Ed Maltby 

Prof Edward Maltby is Emeritus Professor of Wetland Science, Water and Ecosystem Management, University of Liverpool. He has over 40 years’ experience in scientific research with skills in multidisciplinary/international working and the linkage of natural science to social sciences and policy innovation with particular reference to the functioning of water and wetland ecosystems. He has provided technical advice and advocacy at the Conferences of Parties and technical working groups of The Convention on Biological Diversity, The Ramsar Convention and other policy and legislative fora at international, supranational and national levels. Ed played a key role in the development and implementation of the Ecosystem Approach (CBD/IUCN), the Wise Use concept (Ramsar) and horizontal guidance for wetlands under the EU Water Framework Directive.

Forum Coordinator: Dr. Steve Guilbert

Steve joined the DMF in January 2013 having previously worked in academia and undertaken a number of social/environmental research projects including a three-year doctoral study of Devon’s estuarine salmon seine-net fishery.  Starting work for the DMF in Exeter, Steve remarked, represented a personal return to the county of his birth and a professional return to the marine and coastal sector: both of which he felt passionate about and hoped to be a strong advocate of!

Assistant Forum Coordinator: Jay Francis Boyle

Jay joined the DMF in January 2019 and will serve as an Environment Support Office alongside Steve. A First-Class Marine Zoology graduate of Plymouth University, Jay brings a broad knowledge of Devon’s marine ecosystems and current affairs. He has also conducted research on leatherback, hawksbill and green turtles in Costa Rica, but now his attention has turned back home. Jay is excited to meet the various partners and people involved in Devon’s maritime sector and hopes to help contribute towards achieving long-term positive outcomes for Devon’s marine and coastal environments.

The Steering Group

The Steering Group oversees the business and management of the Forum, agreeing work programmes, funding schemes and budgets.  Together with the Chairman, the high-level professionals involved in the Forum through the Steering Group also provide invaluable input in to the development of the Forum, guiding the design, content delivery of projects and core services.