TEAM
GEERG researchers and volunteers are based at various institutions across Canada. Although studying the Greenland shark and other northern elasmobranchs could easily employ several researchers on a full-time basis, no funding exists to sustain our work. GEERG duties are thus seasonal and non-remunerated. GEERG directors may nonetheless be reached throughout the year.
PresidentDirector - Atlantic Region
info@geerg.ca
Fields of study: Influence of physical variables on the movement and behaviour of the Greenland shark (M.Sc., UQTR 2012); Distribution of Somniosus microcephalus; Social and environmental impact of sport diving activities in the presence of sharks; Shark behaviour.
Jeffrey is also Director of the Quebec Shark Observatory (OSQ), Managing Director of the Shark Research Institute (SRI Canada), and Director of the Shark Observation Network (www.sharksonline.net).
Jeffrey started diving with the Royal Canadian Sea Cadets in 1982 at the age of 14. He has since led several research and training expeditions around the world. Among other accomplishments, Gallant was trained as an aquanaut in Romania in 1995, he is the former Chief Diver of the Quebec Aquarium, and he spent a few days diving aboard Cousteau's windship Alcyone in 1999. An award-winning underwater photographer and videographer, Jeffrey has contributed to several dive publications, books, as well as television and film documentaries on sharks and diving, including National Geographic, Discovery Channel, History Channel, and the BBC. He is the author of the internationally-acclaimed Diving Almanac and Book of Records and he has been a contributing editor of Vancouver-based DIVER Magazine since 1997. He was elected a Fellow of the Explorers Club in January 2010 and he was presented with the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in recognition of his contributions to Canada in 2012. Jeffrey lives in Drummondville, Quebec, where he teaches at CEGEP de Drummondville (university prep).
Vice-PresidentDirector - Pacific Region
chclark@interchange.ubc.ca
Fields of study: Shark behaviour and anatomy; Distribution of Somniosus microcephalus.
Chris is the author of over 30 research papers and chapters on veterinary aspects of fish, reptiles and amphibians, and he published a marine life guide to Canadian Atlantic waters, Eastern Tidepool and Reef. He held positions at the University of Alberta, Dalhousie University, and at present is at the University of British Columbia where he is in the Zoology Department. He is active on the Canadian Council on Animal Care and he is currently on the boards of the Animal Welfare Foundation of Canada, and the Canadian Farm Animal Care Trust. His interest in marine conservation led him to a number of television and film credits including Discovery Channel, CBC, BBC, and the National Film Board of Canada as creator, writer, host and Director of underwater photography. He was elected a Fellow of the Explorers Club in May 2012. Chris lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Technical Director and Traininginfo@debdive.com
Paul Boissinot has been a SCUBA instructor since 1973. Paul is the Diving Safety Officer of the Quebec Aquarium and he is a former president of the Canadian Association for Underwater Science (CAUS), and of the Fédération Québécoise des Activités Subaquatiques (FQAS / Quebec Underwater Council). He is an international instructor of Professional Scuba Inspector (PSI) and an instructor of the Divers Alert Network (www.debdive.com). He has trained visual cylinder inspectors for the FQAS since 2000. Paul has hosted several television and radio programs on SCUBA diving since 1979. He is regularly consulted as an expert on SCUBA diving and as an expert witness during dive accident investigations. He has been a guest speaker at several national and international events including the Festival international de l'image sous-marine. Paul was the founding president of dive suit manufacturer Atlan from 1985 to 1998.
Artist-in-Residencewww.jeanlouiscourteau.com
Born in Montreal in 1959, Jean-Louis Courteau is self-taught, notwithstanding his college studies in visual arts, the classes of which he admits having skipped more than his share…
A passionate lover of nature, Courteau mostly paints landscapes, although he was once defined as an animal painter. His workshop: the great outdoors, often Lake Baskatong where he goes to paint, living alone under a tent on an island, soaking in impressions received from the great surroundings, especially the light: « The light is what counts, the subject is merely a pretext », which is particularly apparent in Courteau’s underwater scenes (he is also an avid diver).
Courteau makes colour vibrate, inviting us to immerse ourselves in the painting until its subject is forgotten, leaving the shapes, impressions and atmosphere emanating from it to be perceived. (Source: Galerie d'art Michel Bigué)
Tag Deployment and Underwater PhotographyJean-Yves is a highly skilled diver and he was the first person to tag a freeswimming Greenland shark during a GEERG mission in 2004. Since then, Jean-Yves has deployed several more acoustic and satellite emitters on Greenland sharks at our study site near his hometown of Baie-Comeau.
In addition to being a skilled underwater photographer and boatsman, Jean-Yves is a former mechanic with the Canadian Armed Forces and he regularly makes critical repairs on all types of equipment during GEERG expeditions.
CASTRO, Dr. Jose - Mote Marine Laboratory
CHABOT, Dr. Denis - Maurice Lamontagne Institute (Department of Fisheries and Oceans)
CHOROMANSKI, Joe - Director of Animal Husbandry, Ripley Aquariums
RILEY, Cyrena - PhD Candidate, Université du Québec à Rimouski
SAINT-LOUIS, Dr. Richard - ISMER (Institut des sciences de la mer de Rimouski)
STOKESBURY, Dr. Michael - Canada Research Chair in Ecology of Coastal Environments at Acadia University
WHORISKEY, Dr. Fred G. Jr. - Executive Director, The Ocean Tracking Network, Dalhousie University
WORM, Dr. Boris - The Worm Lab, Dalhousie University
georgina.pendell@myport.ac.uk
Georgina’s life has been dominated by a fascination for all shark species. As she grew up, this interest became a passion, compelling her to seek greater challenges for an aspiring geneticist with a love for sharks. Her PhD studying the genetic diversity and distribution of the Greenland Shark represents her greatest challenge to date, and she is excited to see how her collaboration with GEERG may benefit the conservation of this near threatened species.
