Bruce Cardwell (Director/General Manager)
Bruce has worked in the marine farming industry for 12 years, seven years as Operations Manager and three years as Manager - Havelock for Sanford Limited (Aquaculture Division). He represented the company in a number of affiliated marine farming organisations. Bruce was chair of the aquaculture advisory group which introduced aquaculture training and project coordinator to trial sea cage marine farming for crayfish. For the past five years Bruce has been involved in a number of ‘turn-key’ projects including establishing a successful natural products manufacturing facility to utilise the waste products from the wine industry and convert to high value products for the cosmetic and nutraceutical markets. The role involved developing a niche export operation and markets were established in Japan, Europe and USA.

Graeme Coates (Director)
Graeme has worked in the marine farming industry for 35 years, eight of those as a director and General Manager of Fish Farm Development International Limited, a fish farm consultancy in the United Kingdom. He also worked as a Director and Chief Operating Officer for Regal Salmon Limited (seven years), one of New Zealand’s pioneering salmon farming companies. For the past twelve years Graeme has been involved in the mussel farming industry in the top of the South Island of New Zealand and is the contracted Executive Officer for the Marine Farming Association. Graeme specialises in the management of large scale multi-party marine farm sites.

Mark Gillard (Associate)
Mark Gillard has a degree from Auckland University and has been involved in aquaculture since 1979. For the six years prior to this Mark was involved in the freshwater eel fishery including catching, live hauling, primary and secondary processing.
Mark has extensive practical experience in salmon ocean ranching, freshwater hatchery, and net pen farming. He is one of the original salmon farmers in New Zealand. Mark has experience in all aspects of salmon farming, as well as lodging plan changes and resource consent applications, dealing with Central and Local Government and advice on aquaculture to a wide range of stakeholders. He has also worked in greenshell mussel culture and has an interest in opportunities for other species.
Mark has been employed by the New Zealand King Salmon Company Limited for over twenty eight years and has recently reduced his hours with the company to allow him time to explore other opportunities. He is well travelled and has a wide range of industry contacts.
Mark has chaired the New Zealand Salmon Farmers Association for over 17 years and was a founding director on Aquaculture New Zealand. He has been deputy chair for that organisation for the past three years.

Joanne Taylor (Administration/Finance/Project Management)
Joanne has worked in the marine farming industry for over 8 years, four years as Finance and Administration manager for the Marine Farming Association. As well as working for the Marine Farming Association Joanne has managed the business affairs of a number of private marine farming ventures in the Top of the South. Prior to this she held various senior operational, sales and marketing management roles for the Natural Gas Corporation based in Christchurch. Joanne is an experienced all-rounder with many years’ project management, information gathering and analytical experience both within the aquaculture industry and the energy utilities industry. Joanne brings a wealth of business knowledge to the team.

Associates
Aquaculture Direct has Associates with the following areas of expertise and specialisation:

• Aquaculture and marine farm management and operations
• Science, research and development
• Finance and governance
• Aquaculture law
• Planning and Resource Management Act
• Fisheries management
• Seafood processing
• Quality assurance
• Seafood marketing and sales