Ebinimi Joseph Ansa

Biography

Dr Ebinimi Ansa is a Research Scientist at the African Regional Aquaculture Centre (ARAC) and the Nigerian Institute for Oceanography and Marine Research (NIOMR) with over twenty-five years’ experience in fisheries biology and aquaculture management. Dr Ansa started early in life and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Zoology from the University of Port Harcourt in 1989 and a Master of Science degree with Distinction at the University of Lagos in1992. She returned to the University of Port Harcourt where she bagged a Doctorate degree in Fisheries Biology and Hydrobiology in 2006. To strengthen her capacity, she attended various local and international professional courses in Integrated Fish Farming at Wuxi, China (1994); Fisheries Restocking and Stock Enhancement at CIHEAM, Zaragoza, Spain (2008), Culture of black tiger shrimps in Lagos, Nigeria (2008) and Sustainable Environmental Leadership at the University of California, Berkeley (2013). Twice she earned the fully funded Nuffic Fellowship of the Netherlands Fellowship Programme (NFP) and under the fellowship she went to Wageningen University for training in Fisheries Governance (2013) and Fisheries Data Collection and Analysis (2008). In 2011, Dr Ansa won the highly contested Post-doctoral Fellowship of the African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD) which is funded by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and United States Aid for International Development (USAID). She is presently an executive member of AWARD country chapter in Nigeria. Due to her efforts in the advancement of sustainable aquaculture development in Nigeria, she was appointed Special Adviser on Aquaculture and Fisheries to the Governor of Bayelsa State (May 2016 – January, 2019) and was a Co-coordinator/member of the Aquaculture Working Group of the African Fisheries Reform Mechanism (AFRM) of the African Union – InterAfrican Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR). Dr Ansa is an aquaculture and fisheries management expert and seeks solutions to mitigate the problems attributed to climate change and pollution effects on aquatic life through culture of selected species of migratory prawns, sedentary mangrove oyster, catfish and tilapia amongst others. In service to the fisheries community Dr Ansa served as the Editor-in-Chief of the Nigerian Journal of Fisheries from 2010 to 2016. She also served as Adjunct Lecturer in the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Environment, Rivers State University and University of Africa, Toru-Orua. She has published several articles in both local and international journals and conference proceedings and has impacted thousands of fish farmers and processors across the Niger Delta region through training and skills development of these farmers in partnership with organizations such as Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Nigerian Agip Oil Company – Green River Project, Market Development in the Niger Delta (MADE), DFID funded programme and NECA’s Network of Entrepreneurial Women (NNEW). Dr Ansa is God – fearing and draws strength in service to God and humanity. She is happily married to Prof. Joseph Ansa and they have five children.