Dr. Vinay Udyawer

Vinay is the Research Director of Sharks Pacific, an NGO based in the Cook Islands working with Pacific communities to manage and conserve elasmobranch species. Hailing from India, raised in Dubai and New Zealand, Vinay specializes in studying animal movements and distributions as well as understanding how environmental and man-made changes may impact threatened species including sharks, rays, sea snakes, turtles, whales, fish and even birds, and how to better manage and conserve their populations. Vinay’s expertise lies in analysing and visualising complex quantitative and spatial data, including animal survey data, remote sensing products, and movement data from animal tracking technologies.

He has developed and maintains several R packages designed to support the research community in analysing acoustic telemetry datasets, visualising 3D movement patterns, and accessing and integrating spatial environmental data. In addition, Vinay serves as co-chair of the IUCN Sea Snake Specialist Group, where he works to raise the profile of these often-overlooked marine reptiles and promote their conservation.