Born on a tiny coral atoll in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, Alaric McCarthy has always been fascinated by culture, as well as the sea and its bounty of life. After high school, Alaric came to Dunedin to study zoology and geography before completing a Master?s degree in Marine Science at the University of Otago. His research took him back to the tropics, where he investigated how the 'ozone hole' affects marine larvae, an important part of the food web across different latitudes.

At CSAFE, Alaric works with the Te Tiaki Mahinga Kai (TMK) project. His involvement with TMK specifically relates to the sustainability of fisheries, traditional ecological knowledge, and cross-cultural management.