Our Team | Bailey Lab @ Marine Affairs

Leadership

Megan Bailey

Director, Bailey Lab
Professor, Marine Affairs Program

I grew up in London Ontario, completing my Bachelors in Zoology at Western University in 2003. I have always been interested in the natural world, and fancied myself destined to be a vet, primatologist or marine biologist.

With that mission in mind, I spent a year in Suriname working on a capuchin monkey field study in a remote location on the Coppename River. Armed with idealism and a pair of binoculars, I thought I’d save the rainforest. What struck me after only a couple of weeks in the field was the coupled nature of social and ecological systems. Saving the rainforests because of ideology can also mean destroying local livelihoods and cultures. To have the largest conservation impact, I realized that I needed to expand my studies to include social and economic systems.

In 2005 I attended the Fisheries Centre at UBC to pursue graduate school under the supervision of Dr. Rashid Sumaila in the Fisheries Economics Research Unit. I completed my Masters in 2007 and my Doctorate in 2012. My PhD focused on solutions to global tuna governance through the lens of game theory and economics.

In July of 2015, I wrapped up a three year Postdoc with the Environmental Policy Group at Wageningen University in the Netherlands where I helped to lead the BESTTuna and IFITT projects (www.besttuna.org; www.ifittuna.info). With my studies spanning zoology, fisheries economics and environmental policy, I have a unique perspective on the issues facing marine resource use, as well as a unique vision for how solutions to these issues can be developed.

I am always looking for opportunities to supervise students and collaborate with partners and colleagues. I can be reached at:

Megan Bailey, Associate Professor, Marine Affairs Program
Canada Research Chair Integrated Ocean and Coastal Governance
Nippon Foundation Ocean Nexus PI
Dalhousie University, 1355 Oxford St, Life Sciences Centre 801
Halifax, NS, B3H 1R2 Canada

Phone: +1 (902) 494-6906
Email: Megan.Bailey@Dal.ca

Wilf Swartz

Deputy Director, Ocean Nexus Center
Professor, Marine Affairs Program

Wilf grew up on both sides of the Pacific—Tokyo and Vancouver— before completing his BSc. in Biology with a Minor in Asian Studies at the University of British Columbia.

After a brief foray into international relations (Fukuoka, Japan), Wilf returned to the Fisheries Centre at UBC to pursue graduate studies in resource management in 2002. His two-year MSc was followed by another academic hiatus, this time to spend three years in global finance (London, UK). Wilf completed his PhD in resource economics at UBC in 2012 and was with the Nippon Foundation Nereus Program, first as a research fellow (2012-14) and then as a program manager (2014-16, 2018-19) before joining the Marine Affairs Program in 2019 as a research associate. Wilf has also worked as a research officer for the World Trade Organization (Geneva, 2011) and as the Director of Environmental Policies at the Ocean Policy Research Institute (Tokyo, 2016-18).

Wilf’s research focuses on the role of public policies for economic security and social safety nets in fishing communities from Atlantic Canada to the coasts of Japan.

Born in Canada and raised in Japan, Wilf is enthusiastic about seafood, from smoked salmon to skipjack sashimi.

Email: Wilf.Swartz@dal.ca

Ken Paul

Indigenous Fellow

Ken is a member of the Wolastoqey First Nation in the community of Neqotkuk whose traditional territory is located on the northern Atlantic coast spanning the Canada/US border between Maine, New Brunswick and Quebec.

For the past 9 years, Ken has advocated for First Nations Chiefs regionally, nationally and internationally on all aspects relating to fisheries, aquaculture, oceans governance and aquatic resources as they relate to inherent and treaty rights, legislation, and policy. This includes Indigenous Knowledge Systems, economic prosperity, community engagement and resource management.

Previous to this, he had worked for 10 years in field-based ocean mapping with the Canadian Hydrographic Service and another 10 years with Parks Canada as a Senior Policy Advisor in Atlantic Canada and the Field Unit Superintendent in the Northwest Territories.

Ken has an MBA with St Mary’s University and a BSc from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia and has extensive training in leadership, policy development, mediation, labour relations, First Nations governance and traditional teachings.

Ken is currently the Lead Fisheries Negotiator and Research Coordinator for the Wolastoqey Nation and is a dedicated father of two.

Hussein Sinan

Profile to follow

Rachael Cadman

Assistant Professor

Hello! I am an Assistant Professor in the Marine Affairs Program. I am a settler – originally from Guelph, Ontario on Treaty 3 territory and the lands of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. I first moved to Halifax in 2009 and fell in love with the ocean. I thought a lot about human connections and responsibilities to the marine environment, and especially about how we come to “know” the ocean at all: whose knowledge matters when it comes to making decisions about marine and coastal environments? My research takes place in the Arctic, primarily in Inuit Nunangat, the Inuit homelands. I am a transdisciplinary researcher, and my focus is on developing applied solutions to questions of justice and sovereignty for Indigenous peoples in the marine and coastal environment. My work emerges out of partnerships with Indigenous governing organizations and communities, and I try to advance their interests in resource management, conservation, and research sovereignty. I center my research on the values of reciprocity and respect, towards transformative futures for Arctic Peoples.

Email: rachael.cadman@Dal.ca

Post-Doctoral Fellows

Emmanuelle Cook

Post-Doctoral Fellow

I am a settler originally from Ottawa, Ontario, the traditional territories of the Anishinaabe Algonquin Nation. I am working as a Postdoctoral researcher with Megan Bailey and Ken Paul on a project identifying marine carbon dioxide removal potential through Indigenous perspectives. Through my graduate work, I realised that the climate crisis is a powerful driving force in scientific research. I believe that finding sustainable solutions to this crisis requires more than scientific ingenuity and includes a societal shift in how we consume resources and connect with nature. Therefore, I am interested in working in transdisciplinary spaces and engaging in collaborative research projects that include many different perspectives, where I can combine my knowledge and experience gained through engineering and oceanography to help create solutions for ocean environmental protection and sustainability.

I completed my PhD in oceanography at Dalhousie University where my research focused on studying the effect of sea ice cover on underwater ambient noise in northern coastal regions. My PhD work included exploring different research approaches rooted in prioritizing knowledge sharing and collaborating with local communities in Nunatsiavut. I pursued a bachelor’s degree in engineering physics, and it wasn’t until I completed my undergraduate degree that I learned about oceanography. I was immediately drawn to oceanography as it connected my pursuit of engineering with my passion for aquatic environments. Growing up, I spent a lot of time around lakes, and my favourite pastimes were anything that got me on the water. In my free time, I still enjoy spending my time outside near the ocean rock climbing, wind surfing, and canoeing.

Email: Emmanuelle.Cook@dal.ca

PhD Students

Dylan Seidler

PhD Candidate

Dylan Seidler has long had a passion for marine conservation. Broadly, Dylan’s research interests include endangered species survival protection, marine mammal and salmonid conservation, mitigating climate change/environmental impacts and relationships with Indigenous communities and small-scale fisheries.

As a history-environmental studies major at Whitman College, much of Dylan’s honors thesis, Cultural Staples in Crisis: A Historical Analysis of Southern Resident Orcas and Chinook Salmon, emphasized the value of examining Indigenous history and cultural attitudes alongside colonial perspectives to develop successful collaborative partnerships to aid in the recovery of endangered southern resident orcas and Chinook salmon. While a Master of Marine Management candidate at Dalhousie University she worked as an intern for the Sustainable Nunatsiavut Futures Project. This project is a collaborative initiative focused on addressing the impacts of climate change on local communities by partnering with community members to share knowledge about effective ways to monitor, and manage, Arctic marine ecosystems. Dylan’s masters project, Reshaping Research Paradigms: Insights from a Large-Scale Project Based in Nunatsiavut (Labrador, Canada). focused on gathering perspectives on community engagement process to explore how research conducted in the region can best support Labrador Inuit community goals.

As a PhD student in Interdisciplinary Studies at Dalhousie, Dylan is continuing her work with the Sustainable Nunatsiavut Futures Project. Her current research focuses on partnering with the Torngat Wildlife, Plants and Fish Secretariat and Torngat Fish Producers Co-Operative to understand the past, present and possible future of Arctic char fisheries in Nunatsiavut. The overall goal is to discuss how external instructions (federal and academic) may support food security and Labrador Inuit sovereignty particularly in the context of a changing climate.

Email: Dylan.Seidler@dal.ca

Abdirahim Ibrahim Sheike

PhD Candidate

Abdirahim is interested in the sustainable utilization of fisheries and marine resources, particularly tuna and tuna-like species of Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs). He is a Research Fellow with the Nippon Foundation Ocean Nexus Center and a member of Bailey Lab.

He has earned a BSc in Biology and Chemistry and an MBA at the Northern University of Malaysia. Abdirahim Ibrahim is a graduate MMM student at the Dalhousie University of Marine Affairs Program.

His research interest is the inequitable burdens and incompetence of developing coastal states and the nature of RMFOs governance systems towards shared fisheries resources. He continued to study and develop an interest in the human dimensions of resource use, particularly engagement related to resource conflict, corruption, and justice. Abdirahim was a regular attendant of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) and the Head of the delegation for Somalia. He won numerous scholarships and international travel grants to attend conferences. His Ph.D. aims to identify the links and interactions among RFMOs and state policy on resource governance and management for better regional fisheries management.

Email: Abdirahim.Ibrahim@dal.ca

Grace Akinrinola

PhD Candidate

Grace Akinrinola is an Interdisciplinary PhD (IDPhD) candidate at Dalhousie University interested in applying principles that consider humans as integral components of social-ecological systems, such as ecosystem-based management (EBM) and interactive governance. She graduated from Dalhousie University with a Master of Marine Management (MMM) in 2023 and her research was on promoting reconciliation and Indigenous self-determination through EBM. Before this, she completed her B.Sc. (Hons.) in Marine Biology and M.Sc. in Marine Pollution and Management (Distinction) from the University of Lagos, Nigeria. The Genome Canada North Atlantic Right Whale project and the Nova Scotia Graduate Scholarship at the Doctoral level fund her PhD research. Other previous awards and scholarships Grace received include the Marine Affairs Millennium Prize Interdisciplinarian of the Year 2023, Sobey Fund for Oceans Scholarship 2022-2023 and Nippon Foundation Ocean Nexus Center Student Fellowship.

With over seven years of experience in environmental impact assessment, implementing ecosystem-based approach programs, strategic marine-related research, and administration, Grace has developed an interest in the human dimensions of resource use, particularly aspects related to conflict and justice. Her PhD research focuses on enhancing the governability of North Atlantic Right Whale (NARW) conservation. Despite ongoing discussions involving various stakeholders such as scientists, fishers, fish managers, fishing associations, government, and non-governmental organizations, a collaboration gap persists in actively engaging rightsholders (Indigenous communities) and stakeholders (including fish harvesters) in developing an inclusive management system. The project aims to study NARW conservation burdens and provide recommendations for an improved collaborative conservation landscape. She is excited to contribute to the sustainable and inclusive conservation of the NARW population using an interdisciplinary approach. Her leisure time is spent with my family, engaging in activities like singing, dancing, praying, and playing together.

Email: Grace.Akinrinola@dal.ca

Scott Schrempf

PhD Candidate

Born and raised in Ontario, Scott became passionate about the ocean life and conservation through childhood trips to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina with his family. While completing a Bachelor of Science in Biology, from Queen’s University, his passion and appreciation for the world around him grew, as well as his understanding of the importance of conserving and protecting the ecosystems around us. During his degree, Scott had the opportunity to complete an exchange semester at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia where he expanded his knowledge on marine ecology and conservation, reigniting his childhood love for marine ecosystems. During his Master of Marine Management, Scott’s research project - The Cost of Doing Nothing - analyzed 10 years of Indian Ocean yellowfin tuna management from an economic and policy perspective to better understand factors impeding rebuilding efforts for yellowfin tuna by the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC)

Scott's PhD research looks to understand how and where a human rights-based approach (HRBA) to fisheries management could help promote sustainable and equitable international fisheries. To do this, he is looking to apply an HRBA to different stages of fisheries management - in the allocation of marine resources, in active management through harvest strategies (or management procedures), and in consideration for and development of small-scale fisheries. Overall, he looks to compare the influence of including socioeconomic indicators within contemporary management approaches to a human rights-based approach to understand how they address or entrench inequity concerns. With the support of the Sustainable Fisheries and Communities Trust, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, and the Bailey Lab, Scott is excited to continue researching sustainability and equity in international fisheries management.

Email: Scott.Schrempf@dal.ca

Leah Creaser

PhD Candidate - Profile to follow

Research Assistants

Kali Hines

Research Assistant

As a Master of Marine Management candidate from Nova Scotia, Canada, Kali grew up near the ocean and quickly developed a passion for all things marine-related. Kali is very passionate about the interdisciplinary nature of marine management issues.

In her Masters, she aims to build on her joint undergraduate degree in Environment, Sustainability & Society (ESS), and Spanish, and continue to weave social, environmental, and economic factors together to combine science, governance, and public impacts. She incorporates this knowledge into her passion for sustainability, resource management, Indigenous rights and knowledge, climate change and ocean conservation.

As a member of the Bailey Lab and a Sobey Fund for Oceans Scholarship awardee, Kali is excited to merge her interests in language and sustainability with marine management.

Kali is thrilled to be conducting her research under the supervision of Dr. Megan Bailey and Trina Roache. Through her research, she is exploring how language differs in media when reporting on Nova Scotia fisheries disputes. Specifically, she is researching how language changes when the subject is Indigenous versus non-Indigenous fishermen, and how it differs by media source. Kali looks forward to producing research that can contribute to a larger narrative shift surrounding treaty rights and equitable access to marine resources.

Email: Kali.Hines@dal.ca

Kevin Allan

Research Assistant

Kevin is a Master of Marine Management Candidate with the Marine Affairs Program at Dalhousie University. Also at Dalhousie, Kevin completed a Bachelor of Science, majoring in Marine Biology. As part of the GE3LS team of the North Atlantic Right Whale (NARW) Genome Project, Kevin will research the role of Indigenous-led organizations and Indigenous Knowledge (IK) in NARW conservation and management. Under the co-supervision of Dr. Megan Bailey and Dr. Rachael Cadman, Kevin will conduct interviews with Aboriginal Aquatic Resource and Oceans Management organizations (AAROMs) and Fisheries and Oceans Canada. The goals of these interviews are to ascertain how IK and AAROMs have been involved in right whale management and conservation; and to look for ways to improve engagement and strengthen their involvement in the future. In the spirit of reconciliation, Kevin’s research will focus on ensuring that Indigenous voices are represented in NARW conservation and decision-making.

Email: Kevin.Allan@dal.ca

Nina Dharmaraj

Research Assistant

Nina is originally from coastal South India, and grew up back-and-forth between India and England. After graduating with a BSc Hons in Animal Behaviour, they attended veterinary school in Scotland for two and a half years before deciding that, despite loving it, it wasn’t the long-term life for them. In their undergrad, their greatest interest was around marine mammal behaviour and conservation, which ended up being a passion they chose to follow. They completed the Master of Marine Management graduate program at Dalhousie University in 2025.

Nina’s Masters grad project was researched under the supervision of Dr Megan Bailey. Their research reviews the literature on the potential impacts of offshore wind energy on marine mammals, specifically focusing on implications for North Atlantic Right Whales (NARW) and what challenges conservation might encounter in terms of governance in the renewable energy sector.

Email: nina.dharmaraj@dal.ca

Alexa Goodman

Research Assistant

Alexa brings over seven years of interdisciplinary experience across academia, government, industry, and the non-profit sector, with a focus on marine debris, plastics pollution, circular economy approaches, and abandoned, lost, and discarded fishing gear (ALDFG, or “ghost gear”). Their work has included assessing ghost gear in Atlantic Canada, developing monitoring and evaluation frameworks for gear retrieval programs, supporting Fisheries and Oceans Canada research, and working with stakeholders to translate research into practical solutions. Their experience spans qualitative and quantitative research, literature reviews, stakeholder engagement, project management, and knowledge mobilization.

Alexa holds a Master of Marine Management from Dalhousie University, where their research focused on managing abandoned, lost, and discarded lobster fishing gear in the Bay of Fundy, as well as a BSc in Marine Biology and Sustainability. They are also a certified Project Management Professional (PMP).

Originally from Montreal, Alexa moved to Nova Scotia in 2013 and has built their career around their interest in marine sustainability and finding practical, collaborative approaches to environmental challenges. Email: a.goodman@dal.ca

Email: a.goodman@dal.ca

Lana Vuleta

Research Assistant

Lana (settler) is currently completing their MSc in geography at Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador and is based out of the unceded, unsurrendered territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation, in what some know as Ottawa. They've joined the team to work on the Natoaganeg First Nation land claim project.

Email: lana.j.vuleta@gmail.com

Masters Students

Lauren Farley

MMM Candidate

Lauren grew up along the Petitcodiac River watershed in Moncton, New Brunswick, spending summers at the beautiful beaches of Shediac Bay and the Northumberland Strait, which helped cultivate her affection for and curiosity about the marine world. Lauren’s passion for ocean life, especially sharks, along with her commitment to ocean and environmental conservation, led her to complete a BSc at Dalhousie with a double major in Marine Biology and Environment, Sustainability & Society. After completing her undergraduate degree, Lauren worked with several non-profit organizations as an ocean educator and science communicator, sharing her passion for ocean conservation. As a current Master of Marine Management student, Lauren is interested in exploring equitable ocean governance through effective frameworks that support functional, resilient ocean sustainability. Under the supervision of Dr. Wilf Swartz and Dr. Hussain Sinan, Lauren's research project will examine the relationships between fisheries and ocean governance structures focused on the new Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement and Regional Fisheries Management Organizations.

Email: lauren.farley@dal.ca

Oluwafemi Caleb Olowe

MMM Candidate

My name is Oluwafemi Caleb Olowe, and I am an incoming Master of Marine Management (MMM) student at Dalhousie University (2026–2027). I am a Student Fellow with the Nippon Foundation Ocean Nexus Center, an awardee of the Sobey Fund for Oceans Scholarship, and a member of the Bailey Lab. I earned a Bachelor of Fisheries and Aquaculture from Usmanu Danfodiyo University in Nigeria.

My research interests focus on sustainable fisheries, seafood value chains, and fisheries governance, especially in small-scale fisheries. I am interested in how good governance and evidence based policies can protect marine resources while supporting coastal communities.

My academic and research experience in Nigeria has covered aquaculture, fish quality assessment, fisheries management and restoration, and molecular diagnostics. Through this work, I gained experience in both field and laboratory research.

Through the MMM program, I hope to build on this foundation by developing a deeper understanding of seafood value chains, fisheries policy, and coastal resource management. I look forward to contributing to research that supports sustainable fisheries, responsible ocean stewardship, and the development of practical solutions for marine policy.

Email: femiolowe00@gmail.com

Abigail Burgess

MMM Candidate

Abby grew up in Framingham, Massachusetts (the traditional homelands of the Nipmuc, Pawtucket, and the Massachusett-Ponkapoag peoples). On her dad’s side of the family, Abby descends from Grand Chief Gabriel Sylliboy and accordingly belongs to the bear clan. She’s a registered member of the Eskasoni band of the Mi’kmaq First Nation (located in the Unama’ki district of Mi’kma’ki) where her paternal grandmother was born and raised. On her mom’s side of the family, Abby’s eastern Russian Jewish ancestors emigrated to the United States in the early 20th century, notably parting with religious practice while advocating for peace, justice, and non-violence. She proudly identifies as a secular anti-Zionist Jew.

As the 2026/27 Ocean Nexus Indigenous Fellow, Abby is a candidate for a Master of Marine Management at Dalhousie University. Abby graduated cum laude from Beaver Country Day School in 2021 and from Dartmouth College with high honors in 2025 with a B.A. in Native American & Indigenous studies, environmental studies, and psychology. For her undergraduate honors thesis, Abby blended these academic disciplines together to research the unique intergenerational trauma experienced by the Mi'kmaq, the inadequacies of diagnostic metrics and treatment options, and ultimately highlighted Indigenous-led land-and-water-based therapeutic initiatives as a promising form of treatment. Through her graduate research at Dalhousie, Abby aims to identify biocultural aquatic species that are significant to the Mi’kmaq and use these findings to inform marine management frameworks in Nova Scotia.

Email: abby.burgess@dal.ca

Jade Robinson

MMM Candidate

Jade Robinson is a Mi’kmaq epit (woman) from Sipekne’katik First Nation who is currently enrolled in the Master’s in Marine Management program at Dalhousie University. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology and Sustainability from Dalhousie University. Jade’s academic focus centres on implementing a Mi’kmaq treaty-based fishery, equitable fisheries governance, and the decolonization of the Fisheries Act. At home, Jade is a mother of three who strives to maintain a healthy work-life balance, as we all know the days are long and the years are short.

Email: jd768434@dal.ca

Affiliated Students

Abra Brynne

PhD Candidate

Abra is an interdisciplinary PhD student at Dalhousie University working on Indigenous Food Sovereignty. Prior to returning to academia, Abra worked for many years in food systems analysis and policy, integrating marine and land food systems and working at multiple government levels. She also embraced her responsibilities as a settler residing in British Columbia to learn and take action on land justice and Indigenous self-determination. She was thrilled to jump back into academia in September 2022, having received a scholarship as part of a regional food governance project. Her research focus seeks to illuminate avenues for land agency for Indigenous Nations on private property, building on the emerging phenomenon of land sharing agreements. The emphasis to date on decolonizing land in Canada has focused on state-centric processes. Abra’s research will seek to discern how and where non-state land sharing initiatives are disrupting colonial land tenure assumptions and practices and if they can be an avenue for returning land back to their respective Indigenous Nations.

As a cross-listed student fellow of the Bailey Lab, Abra draws on her past work in fisheries policy transitions in the pacific region as well as her land-based policy work to illuminate useful synergies and disconnects in their respective policy regimes.

Zoya Tyabji

PhD Candidate

Zoya is a PhD candidate with the Integrated Fisheries Lab at Dalhousie University, where she is part of a collaborative project unravelling the global shark meat trade. She is also a frequent visitor at the Bailey Lab. Her current research interests include understanding the various and complex interactions between humans and marine systems through an interdisciplinary lens.

She holds a BSc in Zoology and Biochemistry, and MSc in Biodiversity from India. Prior to joining her PhD, she worked on research projects on the terrestrial behaviour of sea kraits, and coral reef resilience in India, and as a marine educator.