Shade Smith
Director and Principal
Shade has been a consulting environmental and marine scientist, specialising in environmental assessments and monitoring of aquatic systems since 2006. After graduating from the University of Auckland with a Master of Science degree in Marine Science, Shade spent time working as an aquaculture scientist in Nelson, New Zealand. There he worked on selective breeding programmes for Greenshell mussels and Pacific oysters. A move to Napier and employment as a field officer brought Shade into close working relationships with regional aquaculture and fisheries stakeholders, including Maori organisations, private companies and government agencies. In private consulting Shade has worked on a variety of projects including open ocean aquaculture research, shellfish stock assessment, and environmental impact assessment in both freshwater and marine systems. His passion however, is the empowerment of indigenous peoples to become more involved and productive in providing resource management solutions.