I completed a degree in Science at the University of Western Australia, majoring in microbiology, in 1984 and worked for two years researching water quality issues for then Western Australian Water Authority. I then worked at Western Biotoechnology Ltd, a company which was producing beta carotene from the salt water alga Dunaliella salina. Following this position, and the birth of my three children, I completed a PhD at Murdoch University on the intensive culture of Haematococcus pluvialis and thereafter worked at Murdoch on various microalgae and prawn aquaculture projects. Since 2002 I have been employed at the WA Department of Fisheries, working with the WA Shellfish Quality Assurance Program and also with the WA Seafood Quality Management Initiative. More recently I have been employed in the WA Department of Fisheries Strategic Planning and Policy Branch dealing with a range of policy and planning issues.