Phil James is a highly motivated science leader with decades of dedicated aquaculture experience, including 16 years at the New Zealand Water and Atmospheric research institute (NIWA), and eleven years at the Norwegian Institute of Food Fisheries and Aquaculture. He has a particular focus on aquaculture of invertebrate marine species and is currently coordinating the H2020 project AquaVitae, focusing on the sustainable development of low trophic aquaculture value chains in the Atlantic.