Dr. Toru Tsuzaki

Toru has over 10 years’ experience in fisheries science, devoting most of his attention to the improving and mitigation of migratory freshwater fish species through rivers in the UK and abroad, such as Sweden, Brazil and Chile.

Toru completed his degree in Marine and Freshwater Biology in 2002 before specializing in coastal engineering and improving coastal habitats through the better understanding of salt marsh and coastal mudflats, understanding the intricate relationship between the engineering value of these habitats as natural coastal defense structures and the ecological value as nursery /recruitment ground for juvenile fish, and rare invertebrates. He completed his MRes and PhD in this topic at the University of Southampton. In 2008 he joined an engineering consultancy as a senior aquatic ecologist where he specialized in fisheries assessments. He led numerous fisheries and protected species surveys and wrote numerous sections on EIA and ES reports for high profile projects such as the New Forth Road Crossing, the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route, A23 and A214 Road schemes.

In 2014, Toru returned to academia where he became an experimental officer for the University of Southampton, engineering department. He managed 3 hydraulic research laboratories where he specialized in developing novel equipment and techniques such as the development of electrical and acoustic barriers for fish deflection, assisting in the development of agent-based models for fish migration. He also consulted for the University on several projects, including investigating the barotrauma of fish travelling through hydropower dams in Brazil, the improving of swim speed models for glass eels.  The modelling of migratory pathways of migrating silver eels through Swedish rivers. He also held positions as the Home Office Named Animal Welfare Care officer, Health and Safety officer and Procurement manager for laboratories under his jurisdiction. He is also a member of the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM)