Richard’s passion for the coast and ocean started with holidays at the seaside as a young boy growing up in Great Britain

in the 1950s. A young Richard also read a book about the Great Barrier Reef which motivated his desire to one-day visit the Reef. That enthusiasm subsequently led to a life-long commitment to the ocean and a distinguished and illustrious career

as a marine biologist and ocean administrator.

After graduating in 1965 with a BSc in Marine Biology from Queen Mary College, University of London, Richard completed

his MSc at the University of Wales in 1968.

Fondly known to many of his colleagues as ‘RAK’, Richard was a creative mentor and leader.  As a pioneer in many aspects of marine conservation, Richard published voluminously and was extensively cited. His eminent career included:

·      Appointment in 1968 as Senior Tutor in Marine Biology at the fledgling University College of Townsville (now James

Cook University or JCU). The foundation Professor of Marine Biology, Cyril Burdon-Jones had been Richard’s MSc supervisor at the University of Wales.

·       From 1972-77, Richard was a Research Fellow in the Marine Biology Department at JCU, with funding to conduct research into the Crown of Thorns Starfish (COTS).  Richard began COTS surveys in the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) working with navy divers; the transect methods they developed using manta tows have continued ever since.

·      In 1974-75, Richard was a member of a small group who developed principles that subsequently informed the drafting of

the GBR Marine Park Act.

·      In 1977, Richard was one of the initial staff appointments to the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority

(GBRMPA), commencing shortly after the Authority’s inception; RAK played a foundational role in the early years of the GBR Marine Park, taking on various roles including as Director responsible for Planning and also Research & Monitoring.

·      Initially as the planner in GBRMPA, and then subsequently as the Director, Planning, he was:

o  Instrumental in setting up the initial multiple-use zoning in the Marine Park (this was the first application of such marine zoning globally and now represents the standard approach to marine park management worldwide).

o  Involved in drafting the UNESCO nomination which led to the GBR being listed as a World Heritage Area (at the time, the largest WHA on the planet)

o  Influential in having the GBR listed as a Particularly Sensitive Sea Area, the first to be approved globally by the International Maritime Organization and one of only 15 such areas worldwide to this day.

·      In 1987-88, Richard was a Marine Policy Fellow at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, USA. During his fellowship,

Richard:

o  wrote his book Managing Marine Environments (1990) that was seminal worldwide as it outlined principles which had never really been enunciated before;

o   promoted marine spatial planning, well before it was “the thing to do”.

·      Other influential publications which Richard co-authored were Guidelines for establishing Marine Protected Areas

(1991) and The Great Barrier Reef: Finding the Right Balance (2002); both are still widely cited today.

·      Richard became well known as an international expert and consultant in international policy, development and capacity

building for sustainable management of coastal and marine biodiversity and resources.

·      In 1991-93, Richard was seconded to be the Secretary for the Commonwealth Government's Resource Assessment Commission's Coastal Zone Inquiry. The Inquiry was ahead of its time, addressing many coastal and environmental

aspects in a holistic way; for example:

o  Richard strongly supported consulting coastal and island Indigenous peoples around Australia despite there being no mention of Indigenous people's rights, uses and values in the Inquiry's Terms of Reference.  For most Indigenous people, this was their first opportunity to share their connection to, and concerns about, their Sea Country.

o  How the Inquiry reports addressed these issues paved the way for legislative and policy changes in how Indigenous governance, use and management of Sea Country, including fisheries, are recognised around Australia.

·       After returning to GBRMPA, Richard created the External Services Branch in the agency working with international and

regional agencies and governments. For example, in 1996, he was a member of an Australian team that designed a strategic plan for marine protected areas in eastern Indonesia (COREMAP).

·      Richard established the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) and the associated International Tropical Marine

Ecosystem Management Symposia.

·       In 1997, Richard was appointed as one of two Executive Directors at GBRMPA, and remained with the Authority until he retired in 1999.  During his many years with GBRMPA, Richard was an integral part of the agency which grew from a small regulatory body to a globally respected environmental management agency – managing the largest marine park (at the time) in the world.

·  In 2001, Richard was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Science (DSc) by JCU in recognition of his marine conservation efforts at the national and international level.

·  He played a significant role as a senior advisor to the UN Environmental Program (UNEP), helping to rebuild their marine program and guiding their marine conservation work.

· From 2000-2010, he was an Honorary Visiting Professor at the University of Wollongong (UOW).

·      In 2010, he joined  the Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources & Security (ANCORS) at the UOW:

o  Richard’s knowledge and experience brought a strong ecological perspective to his teaching and research in planning, management, governance, marine ecology and conservation. His reputation helped attract international scholars to ANCORS.

o  Richard was a tremendous mentor, and he loved working with students in real life management problem solving – he was

applied rather than  theoretical (even though he had teased out a theoretical framework in his book).

o  He continued to contribute to research and teaching at UOW before retiring (again!) in 2020.  

·      In May 2022, Richard was awarded an Emeritus Professorship at UOW in recognition of his vast and highly impactful contributions to international scholarship, policy and teaching.

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It is appropriate that in the week of Richard’s passing, an historic United Nations Treaty for conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction (the High Seas) was finally agreed at the United Nations after almost two decades of negotiations. This Treaty is a monumental win for ocean protection, and is a fitting celebration of Richard’s life-long advocacy for integrated coastal and marine management, which includes the entire ocean.

[Information compiled by Jon Day, Tundi Agardy, Alastair Birtles, Kristina Gjerde, Pat Hutchings, Helene Marsh, Dermot Smyth, John Tanzer, Di Tarte, Michelle Voyer, Simon Woodley, et al.]