Blog Post
We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Jeffrey A. Hutchings, a valued member of the CCA Scientific Advisory Committee, colleague, and friend. Prof. Hutchings was the Izaak Walton Killam Memorial Chair in Fish, Fisheries and Oceans at Dalhousie University. He was a founding Director of the newly created, Society of Canadian Aquatic Sciences, aiming at bringing together freshwater, marine, and fisheries scientists, and Co-Founder and Past-President of the Canadian Society for Ecology and Evolution. His work on fish ecology, evolution, and population dynamics has been published in more than 220 peer-reviewed scientific articles. In 2017 he was awarded the Huntsman Medal in recognition of international research excellence and outstanding contributions to marine sciences.
Prof. Hutchings chaired Canada’s Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada from 2006 to 2010 and was External Audit Advisor to the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development, Office of the Auditor General of Canada.
He was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (RSC) in 2015. He served as a member of the RSC Expert Panel on the regulation of food biotechnology in Canada; chaired the RSC’s Expert Panel on the effects of climate change, fisheries, and aquaculture on Canadian marine biodiversity; was an author on the RSC’s 2015 Position Paper on the provision of science advice to government; and served on its Science Advisory Committee on Expert Panels from 2009 to 2016.
Prof. Hutchings held academic positions at the Institute of Marine Research in Norway and at universities in Norway and Finland. He served on an expert panel for the Swedish Research Council and a marine advisory board for the University of Gothenburg. In 2018, he was inducted as a Foreign Fellow of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters.
His passing is a tremendous loss to many. Our deepest sympathies go out to his family, friends, and colleagues.