Van Holliday—A role model for leadership in fisheries acoustics

Abstract

Van Holliday completed his Ph.D. dissertation, entitled ‘‘Resonance and Doppler Structure from Pelagic Fish Schools,’’ in 1972. He soon published two journal articles based on this research, marking the first steps in a long, distinguished and ongoing contribution to fisheries science. He has published extensively to document his acoustic research on marine life, covering the size spectrum from plankton to marine mammals. This entire body of work is of interest to fisheries biologists who strive to understand the dynamics of populations at all trophic levels to help them better understand the fish populations they study. From this perspective, his advances in acoustic methods, technologies, and instrumentation, and his extensive biological and ecological research should all be considered important contributions to fisheries science. Trained as a physicist, his unique ability to transcend the barriers between physical and biological scientists has been elemental to his success. We recognize Van Holliday for his groundbreaking acoustic research on fish and other forms of marine life, and his scientific and technical excellence. We also recognize Van for his leadership, encouragement, mentoring, and support of colleagues and young scientists, and the vision and focus that he continues to bring to the field of fisheries acoustics worldwide.