Biography

Ahmed Khan completed his B.Sc. in Marine Sciences at Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone, with a Sierra Leone Government Grant-in-Aid Award (1998). His honours thesis, under the supervision of Dr Foday Touray, was on economic incentives for artisanal fishery development in Sierra Leone.

Upon graduating in 1998, Ahmed submitted a research proposal to the Institute of Marine Biology and Oceanography, which aimed at investigating the Impact of the EU's Artisanal Fishery Community Development Project on Coastal Communitiesin Sierra Leone. Although the proposal was successful, the program was interrupted by the onset of civil strife in the capital city of Freetown in January 1999.

Ahmed lived in Gambia/Senegal as a refugee for four years (1999-2003). He taught sciences in high schools, undertook aquatic assessments in mangroveshrimp farming for private companies (notably Value Shrimps Ltd and Moutara Holdings) and served as a United Nations Volunteer (UNV) aquaculturist with the UNDP-Gambian Government Youth and Environment Project. He undertook collaborative studies under the supervision of Dr Heimo Mikkola of the FAO Gambia.

In Canada (August 2003 to present), he has volunteered in marine campaign and outreach programs with the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society BC Branch, and in salmon habitat enhancement activities with the Seymour Hatchery of British Columbia.

Ahmed completed his MSc in September 2006 at the Fisheries Centre in Resource Management and Environmental Studies, with a WUSC-UBC award. His research, which strove to provide an estimate of fisheries non-fuel subsidies globally, will hopefully provide policy relevance to the on-going WTO negotiations on rules to eliminate subsidies that cause overcapacity and overfishing, and in meeting sustainable fisheries management goals.

Ahmed is now working as a research assistant with the Fisheries Economics Research Unit incollaboration with the Sea Around Us Project. His contract will focus on creating and developing an on-line global database on fisheries subsidies and related issues.

Other research interest includes rights based fisheries management, integrated artisanal fisheriesdevelopment and the economics of aquaculture.

Extracurricular activities include playing soccer, hiking, dancing and listening to jazz.