Brad Norman

Special Guest Lecturer

For almost 30 years, Brad Norman has dedicated his life to research, education and conservation programs focused on the world’s biggest fish – the ENDANGERED whale shark – and currently leads a major whale shark program in his role as a Research Fellow with The Harry Butler Institute, Murdoch University.

In addition, Brad heads ECOCEAN Inc., which since 2006 has developed it into Australia’s leading non-government whale shark research organisation, responsible for the development and management of the longest photo-identification monitoring program on a wild shark species in operation globally.

His Masters and PhD both created a greater understanding of whale sharks, assisting with their long-term conservation. He was the first Australian to be receive the Rolex Award for Enterprise in 2006 for his ground-breaking whale shark citizen science project, and in 2019 he was awarded Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for ‘significant service to Science as a Marine Biologist’.