After ten years as Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Greenwich, London, John moved to the south coast of England where he is currently visiting professor at the Institute of Marine Sciences, Portsmouth and Chairman of the Southern Inshore Fisheries & Conservation Authority: The latter statutory organisation being responsible for a sea area of which more than 50% is occupied by 15 marine protected areas with over 30 different overlapping designations. His main research focus is on the ecology of non-native bivalve species, but he has also published on various aspects of policy. His work in Africa won a Queen’s Award for his University in 2007. John is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology and on the Council of the Estuarine & Coastal Sciences Association.