George Watters, PhD

George is the Director of NOAA's Antarctic Ecosystem Research Division and the U.S. Representative to the Scientific Committee for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources. George has held both of these positions since 2009 but has been active in Antarctic research since 1991, when he joined the Division as a first-year Ph.D. student at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. George is a fishery biologist who leads a team conducting directed research on a wide range of issues related to ecosystem-based management of fisheries in the Southern Ocean, including management of the Antarctic krill fishery and the establishment of marine protected areas (MPAs). He played a central role in establishing the Ross Sea region MPA. George is also a recurring member of the U.S. Delegation to the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting and Committee on Environmental Protection as well as a U.S. Representative to the Life Sciences group of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research.