Gwen Fenton

Gwen Fenton was the Chief Scientist of the Australian Antarctic Division and is the first woman to hold this position. She discovered that the fish species Hoplostethus atlanticus can live to over 100 years old, leading to significant changes to the management of the species.

Early life and education Fenton grew up in Australia, the daughter of two scientists. Her mother was a zoologist and her father was a cosmic ray and aurora physicist who worked with the Australian Antarctic Division during the 1950s.

Career and impact Fenton's post-doctoral work at the University of Tasmania resulted in the development of a technique to age fish based on the radioactive decay of radium-226 to lead-210. This revolutionized the understanding of the age of the important fishery species, orange roughy. Her work revealed that this species is extremely slow-growing, not maturing until between 20 and 25 years of age, with significant implications for sustainable management of catch limits for the species.

Fenton joined the Tasmanian Government in marine environmental management and policy development in 1996. In her role she developed environmental monitoring programs for Tasmanian salmon farms, developed ballast water policy and provided advice on marine infrastructure developments. She was succeeded by Nicole Webster.