Growing up in Hong Kong, Dr. William Cheung was always fascinated by the ocean and its vastness, beauty and abundance of life. He saw the waters around him change, sparking a deep concern that would shape his future and ignite a lifelong passion in him for understanding the oceans and finding ways to conserve them for future generations.
“I heard stories from my parents and from my uncles. The oceans that they experienced at that time, and the abundance of marine life, and the beauty of the coastline was not the same when I was there experiencing [it],” Cheung recalled.
Cheung is the director and a professor at UBC’s Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, a world-renowned climate scientist and a leader in interdisciplinary research. He is widely recognized for his work in the field of ocean sustainability and marine biodiversity. In 2021, Reuters named Cheung one of the top 20 most influential climate academics in the world.
During his master’s at the University of Hong Kong, Cheung visited UBC’s Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries for three months.
“[UBC] housed some of the biggest mind thinkers about the oceans, about fisheries at the time,” Cheung said.
Impressed by the research and the people behind it, Cheung later returned to UBC to pursue his PhD in resource management and environmental studies after working as a conservation officer for a few years in Hong Kong at the World Wildlife Fund.
Cheung is also an advocate for bridging the gap between science and policy to promote sustainable ocean management. Whether it’s through scientific collaboration or engaging with local communities, Cheung emphasizes the importance of incorporating diverse perspectives.
An integrated approach to global sustainability
A key policy contribution Cheung made early in his career involved addressing socioeconomic considerations alongside ecological research. His work contributed to the eventual decision to eliminate trawling, an industrial method of fishing, in Hong Kong in 2012.
Trawling involves equipping fishing vessels with a net that is pulled across the seafloor to catch fish. His team’s research showed that it is one of the most intrusive fishing methods, leading to the depletion of ocean resources. His team did not focus solely on the ecological impacts, but also engaged with local fishers and fishing organizations to understand how the policy would affect them and what interventions could ease the transition, as many of these fishers depended on trawling for their livelihoods. Seeing the results from his research and the impacts of the policy about a decade later was a rewarding experience for Cheung.
“We saw recovery of the ecosystems and some of it was as we expected when we did the research. So it was really encouraging,” Cheung said. “Bringing in different perspectives ... is really important to find an equitable solution for different people.”
Cheung’s commitment to bridging science and policy is also evident in his leadership roles with international research initiatives, such as the Solving the Sustainability Challenges at the Food-Climate-Biodiversity Nexus. Funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Canada, this collaborative project spans four continents. This includes case studies in Canada, China, Costa Rica, the Netherlands and West Africa, aiming to address the interconnected issues of food insecurity, climate change and biodiversity loss, challenges that are traditionally addressed in silos.
“We need to draw the linkages between them and find solutions that can have co-benefits across these dimensions, while also minimizing negative consequences that would affect one another,” Cheung said.
The holistic approach of research findings being shared across disciplines and geographic regions is critical for addressing complex and interconnected challenges. In February 2025, Cheung will visit Costa Rica for his next partnership meeting, as the program reaches the midpoint in its six-year timeline.
Looking to the future, Cheung hopes his generation of scientists can equip the younger ones with the tools to participate in climate policy discussions.
Cheung is working to make ocean science more accessible and relatable. A key challenge in ocean conservation is that the oceans often feel distant and disconnected from people's everyday lives. Unlike visible climate change impacts such as wildfires, floods or droughts, the effects on marine ecosystems are often harder for people to perceive.
A 2022 study Cheung conducted alongside one of his students at UBC examined how climate change is effecting seafood selections in restaurants, as many Vancouver restaurants increasingly feature warm-water species as more fish are migrating north in response to rising ocean temperatures. This study resonated with many people as it connected climate change to something tangible.
“It drew so much attention, and I think one of the reasons is that it’s something that people can relate to, and can see and perceive themselves,” Cheung said.
Through studies like this, Cheung hopes to highlight the impacts of climate change in everyday contexts and foster greater literacy around the impact of climate change on ocean ecosystems.
Synchronizing with seafood
Cheung also emphasized how climate change amplifies social inequity and disproportionately affects vulnerable communities that rely heavily on marine resources for nutrition. Coastal First Nations in BC, for example, have long relied on seafood as a key part of their diet and culture, and now climate change is threatening their food security and traditions.
“Without the supply of seafood, they don't have a lot of alternatives to get protein,” said Cheung. “Even in developed countries like Canada … there are groups of communities that are particularly impacted or vulnerable.”
Having worked closely with coastal First Nations in BC, Cheung gained valuable insights into how these communities view their relationship with the oceans. Their connections to the sea often inspire him.
“The First Nations people have generations of culture and tradition. [They] really situate themselves as part of nature, part of the oceans, and all their activities are developed around that,” Cheung said.
“[They] do it in a way that it is part of the natural systems. They ensure that it's synchronized with the natural cycle of fish migration abundance, they make sure that they leave the fish enough so that the cycle can repeat sustainably, and that there are enough [for] other species as well.”
Cheung’s work exemplifies how bridging diverse perspectives from science, policy and local communities can address the complex challenges facing our oceans. He is not only advancing our understanding of the oceans but also making this knowledge accessible and actionable for policymakers and the public alike, while shaping a more sustainable future for both us and the planet.
Moving forward, Cheung believes we need to see the ocean as part of a larger interconnected system, rather than merely a resource for our gain. This shift in perspective is crucial if we are to reverse the decline in biodiversity and ocean abundance.
“Climate change really makes me think that, moving forward in the future, we need to transform the way that we think and how we want to interact with nature.”
A previous version of this story misstated that William Cheung is an associate professor at UBC’s Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries. Cheung is currently a professor at the institute. This article was updated on December 3, 2024 at 2:45 p.m. to reflect this change.
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