Michael is driven to work in areas of fisheries sustainability and conservation research, particularly in nations with complex social and cultural structures. Through his position as a Post-doctoral Research Fellow in Conservation and Fisheries, Michael uses a range of fisheries, conservation, and social science research methods to document local uses and values, and understand the conservation management requirements of non-marine sharks and rays. Michael has worked extensively on small-scale fisheries in Papua New Guinea, where he continues to focus on emerging fisheries and conservation issues through collaborations with national government, and holds an advisory role as a member of the Piku Biodiversity Network NGO. Michael is additionally leading a project in Kalimantan, Indonesia, in collaboration with Hasanuddin University, to provide information for use in conservation risk assessments of Indonesia’s threatened non-marine sharks and rays. Other research interests include life history and demography, elemental analysis of vertebrae, habitat use, human interactions, and conservation policy. Alongside his research, Michael lectures in Marine Conservation Biology and Managing Tropical Fisheries courses at JCU and as is an Executive Committee member for the Centre for Sustainable Tropical Fisheries and Aquaculture. Within the global scientific community, Michael is an active member of the IUCN Shark Specialist Group, Chair of Research for the Sawfish Conservation Society, and General Committee member for the Oceania Chondrichthyan Society.