Our Team

Dr. Hoyt Peckham

Dr. Hoyt Peckham has worked for more than 20 years to ensure that oceans and those who depend on them thrive. He is WCS's Director of Small-Scale Fisheries within the Global Marine Program, transitioning from Ocean Outcomes, where as Chief Innovation Officer he worked to accelerate fisheries improvement.

Prior to this, Hoyt founded and led the The SmartFish Group, a social enterprise consisting of an NGO and a B-Corp-certified intermediary that together incentivize more responsible fishing across Mexico.

Hoyt’s experience working as a captain, diver, fisherman, cameraman, researcher, and serial entrepreneur contributes to his co-development of fisheries and marine conservation solutions.

His specialties include responsible fisheries and seafood, social enterprise, transparency and equity in value chains, marine ecology, bycatch reduction, market-based conservation and participatory action research, and he has worked extensively in the Northwest Atlantic, Polynesia, the Caribbean, Latin America, and Japan. He holds a bachelor's degree in biology and English from Bowdoin College, a doctorate in evolutionary ecology from the University of California at Santa Cruz, and a Launching New Ventures certificate from Harvard Business School.

He is a Pew Marine Conservation Fellow, serves on the boards of SmartFish AC and of the Conservation Alliance for Seafood Solutions and is a sustainability advisor to SeaPact, a seafood industry precompetitive collaboration. Hoyt will be based in Madrid, Spain.