Nina Wambiji is a marine fisheries scientist with extensive experience working in fisheries and marine resource management through the integration of science, policy and community outreach in Kenya, across the Western Indian Ocean region and globally.
She is currently the Chief Research Officer at Mpala Research Centre, Laikipia Kenya. She was the Assistant Director for the Fisheries Section at the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KMFRI), Mombasa, Kenya, where she led and oversaw a team of scientists in the strategic planning, coordination and execution of interdisciplinary and collaborative research-related to fisheries management at national, transboundary and global levels.
A true collaborator and connector, Dr. Wambiji’s nearly two decades of successful research overlaps multiple disciplines and sectors. Working together with local communities and diverse actors, she has spearheaded work in understanding multidisciplinary aspects of fisheries biology, ecology and socio-economics of demersal and pelagic species such as sharks, rays, rabbitfish, billfish and marine mammals. She is also passionate about marine biodiversity data management through providing her time as an editor to 3 global databases –the Ocean Biodiversity Information System, the World Register of Marine Species and the African Register of Marine Species.
Dr. Wambiji was recently selected to serve on the United Nations Ocean Decade Advisory Board. She is a longtime member of the Society for Conservation Biology (SCB) and WIOMSA. In 2023, Dr. Wambiji received the SCB Edward T. LaRoe III Memorial Award. She is also a 2022 Women for the Environment Africa Fellow, a 2020 Pew Marine Fellow, and has received numerous awards and recognitions throughout her career.
She is committed to mentoring and coaching young and upcoming scientists, having supervised Master’s and Ph.D. students and continues to foster partnerships across multiple generations of conservation leaders.