JOHN C. WALCH

As a professional underwater photographer during the mid 1980’s, John realized that Coral Reefs were rapidly exhibiting negative effects from human abuse. To help lesson the pressure being placed on these already fragile marine ecosystems, John realized that the culturing of ornamental marine life was imperative and has devoted his professional life in this pursuit. For over 20 years, John has successfully propagated numerous species of ornamental marine fish and invertebrates.

In 1989 John co-founded C-QUEST, inc. the worlds largest ornamental marine fish hatchery located in Puerto Rico. John was responsible for all facets of design, permitting, construction and operation of this commercial scale hatchery. Currently John serves as marketing director for C-QUEST, inc.

From 1995 to 1999 John served as the director of R&D for WildLife ecosystems of TN. Duties included improving the techniques used in the propagation of corals, fishes, and other ornamental marine life. He was also one of the principle designers of the Reverse Daylight Photosynthesis (RDP) filtration method for marine systems.

In 1995, John was an invited participate in the World Bank sponsored Sustainable Financing Mechanisms for Coral reef Conservation workshop held in Washington, DC. The future of coral reef conservation strategies were outlined at this historical meeting.

John traveled to the Solomon Island chain in 1996 to transfer coral propagation technology to two independent locally owned farm sites. The objective of the establishment of these new locations was to meet the growing demand for cultured corals and to supplement the production from the US based facilities.

In 1997, John served as the only private sector member of the US Department of State advisory council. The intent of this large scale joint venture between the US, Palau, and the Japanese governments was to design and plan The Palau International Coral Reef Research Center to help assure the preservation of tropical coral reefs throughout the region.

John was an invited 1997 panel member on the Fifth Annual World Bank Conference for Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development - Coral Reefs, Challenges and Opportunities for Sustainable Management. John’s area of expertise was presented on Ocean Harvesting of Ornamental Marine Life: A Mechanism for Reef Preservation.

As an advisor with Reef Ball international John demonstrated coral transplanting and coral reef restoration techniques to local governmental agencies and the private sector in American Samoa and Malaysia. A co-authored paper outlining these techniques was presented at the 2001 Marine Ornamental Conference recently held in Florida.

In 2002, John was elected to the Board of Directors of the Reef Ball Foundation for a two year, renewable term.. He has brought a wide range of talents to the organization from coral propagation and restoration techniques to being a strong voice for sustainable development of island ecosystems.

John’s research has been published in hobbyist trade journals (i.e. FAMA, SeaScope) and newsletters. He has been an invited speaker to the SouthWest Marine conferences in ’93, ’94 and ’97. He has also spoken to numerous aquarium clubs throughout the US and at MACNA VII.

John C Walch * Phone (602) 548 8697 * FAX (602) 862 9061 Arizona, USA

Email: SMARTjoh@netscape.net