Mark Peter Simmonds grew up by the sea on the south coast of England where his fascination with marine animals began. He has spent the better part of his scientific career, which spans more than three decades, trying to address threats to marine wildlife, especially marine mammals, and has worked in both the university and non-profit sectors. His more than 200 scientific publications cover many issues including chemical and noise pollution, marine debris and climate change, and he has several books to his name. Much of his work has been focused on whales and the issues they face, including whaling, and since 1994 he has been a member of the Scientific Committee of the International Whaling Commission (IWC).

In 2020, Mark Peter Simmonds was honoured to be appointed as the Scientific Councillor for Marine Pollution to the UN Convention for the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals and in 2019 he convened and chaired the third IWC workshop on marine debris. He has successfully run a number of other international workshops for the IWC and also chairs the UK’s Marine Animal Rescue Coalition.

He is a Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Bristol.

Mark Peter Simmonds joined the OceanCare team in 2021 as Director of Science to further strengthen the science that underpins our work programmes, including within international fora.