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Michael Easton
President and CEO(The company name is only visible to registered members)
- V7P 3H6 North Vancouver
- Canada
Personal information
- Interests
- evolution, fine art nature photography, water polo, hiking, films
- Groups
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Professional experience
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- 1988 - present
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(Only visible for registered members)
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- 1982 - 1988
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Industry: Environmental Services
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- 1975 - 1982
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Department of Fisheries and Oceans (Government of Canada)
Industry: Fishery
- Employment status
- Executive
Educational background
- Sep 1969 - Sep 1972
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University of Liverpool
Genetics, PhD
population genetics, behavioural genetics, ecological genetics, evolution
- Sep 1965 - May 1969
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University of British Columbia
zoology/genetics, BSc (first class honours)
- Languages
- English
About me
President and CEO of International EcoGen inc.
Professional History
Dr. Easton earned his Ph.D. in the field of ecological genetics from the University of Liverpool (1975) in England. His thesis examined the genetics of reproductive isolation and species formation in Drosophila melanogaster (the fruit fly).
In the same year, he accepted a position as a research scientist with the Canadian federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO). He studied lobster population growth characteristics in an extensive field program at Long Harbour in Placentia Bay. The purpose of the study was to understand the growth characteristics of lobsters beyond the minimum legal size limit in anticipation of recommending a new size limit which would enable sufficient reproduction in the population and reduce the effects of fishery-driven size selection (and consequent impacts on growth rate) in the population. He subsequently made a formal recommendation to the CAFSAC committee on lobsters for a minimum legal size limit of 94mm carapace length. In his capacity as a research scientist, he drew up and implemented a program budget and managed several technical staff.
Dr. Easton left DFO in 1982 to form his own private consulting practice. He continued his Long Harbour lobster research, but from a new perspective. He had discovered a lack of juvenile lobsters in the island-based field population under study. His new study investigated the possibility of genetic impacts on the local lobster population arising from a major elemental phosphorus pollution event in Long Harbour in 1969. He was able to make a connection to this event through predictions of catch abundance in the fishery as a function of wind-driven surface currents prevalent at the time of the larval settlement period seven years previous to the catch time. The accuracy of the fishery abundance prediction was 98%.
In 1985, Dr. Easton devised a method of testing the process of lobster ranching in the field. After his subsequent move back to British Columbia in 1987, he was hired by Ocean Fisheries Ltd. as their aquaculture consultant on the strength of a crab ranching project which he initially suggested and subsequently outlined in a detailed business plan. The project incorporated a variety of new technologies for containing the crabs at a wild site and for predator control. The company did not pursue the project even though the returns looked promising. My expertise and the crab project was used in a submission to Revenue Canada for research tax credits that enabled the purchase of a new fish trawler that was austensibly acquired for the project, but became part of their regular fishing fleet.
In 1989, he formed his own company, International Broodstock Technologies, to advise aquaculturists on the genetic management of broodstock and to do research into broodstock genetic development. After being awarded an $850,000 grant from the Canadian Centres of Excellence Program in the Bacterial Diseases Network, Dr. Easton started an active breeding program with coho salmon to select for resistance to bacterial kidney disease. To raise additional funds for the research program, he co-founded Integrated Broodstock International which marketed the excess live salmon eggs to Chile and Japan. He was President and CEO of both companies and was responsible for the financial and strategic management in each. He wrote several business plans during the time that additional financing was being sought. The financial climate for funding any project related to farmed salmon was poor because of the many fish farm bankruptcies at this time. He wound up Integrated Broodstock International in 1996 and changed the focus of International Broodstock Technologies to that of genetic ecotoxicology in the environmental sector.
Over the past eight years, Dr. Easton helped develop new genetic diagnostic technologies that he actively marketed as a service to researchers in universities, government and industry. Many projects benefitted from the genetic insights gained from the analyses. The media examined included pulp mill effluent, mercury, chromium, iron, pesticides, PAHs and unknown contaminants (i.e. beak deformities in chickadees). In 1999, Dr. Easton changed the name of International Broodstock Technologies to International EcoGen, a name that reflected the company’s current business activities. Dr. Easton wrote several detailed business plans which included complete and interactive financial information.
Dr. Easton has had extensive experience in the international arena through his writing and publishing of scientific papers; many media interviews (BBC, CBC, Rafe Maier, Globe and Mail, New York Times, Time Magazine, Manchester Guardian, The Observer and many others); presentation of papers at international environment conferences (Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry).
Within the last few years, Dr. Easton has developed a strong interest in the contamination of biological food chains and has become internationally known for his study on contaminants in farmed salmon and their potential effects on humans, particularly women of child-bearing age. As an offshoot of his interest in the contamination of biological food chains, he has consulted for aboriginal groups that have the potential to be impacted by improper processes of solid and liquid waste management from large urban centres. Because of client needs, he is currently also investigating the practicality of technical solutions to the problems at hand.
Biographical Sketch
RESEARCH & PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:
1972 – 1974 Post Doctoral Appointment, Dept. of Psychology, U. of Bristol, Bristol, England
1975 – 1982 Research Scientist, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, St. John’s, Nfld. Canada
1982 – 1987 Independent Consultant – Aquaculture and Fisheries – Torbay, Nfld. Canada
1987 – 1989 Research Director – Aquaculture – Ocean Fisheries Ltd., Vancouver, B.C.
1989 – 1995 President & CEO. Integrated Broodstock International Inc., Vancouver
1989 – 1999 President & CEO. International Broodstock Technologies Inc., Vancouver
1999 - President & CEO. International EcoGen Inc., Vancouver
Major Society Memberships
Society of Environmental Toxicologists and Chemists (not current)
Society of Canadian Aquatic Toxicologists
Selected Publications and Presentations
Easton, M.D.L. 1978. Some evolutionary consequences of the lobster fishery in Newfoundland. CAFSAC WP 78/38.
Easton, M.D.L. and R.K. Misra 1988. The Mathematics of Crustacean Growth. J. Cons. Int.Explor. Mer, 45:61-72.
Easton, M.D.L. and W.L. Harrower 1990. Comparison of First Winter Performance of 20 Strains of Chinook Salmon. Poster Paper Presentation. Aquaculture International Conference 1990.
Easton, M.D.L., G.M. Kruzynski, I.I. Solar, H.M. Dye. 1997. An investigation into the Genetic Toxicity of Pulp Mill Effluent on juvenile Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus Tshawytscha) using flow cytometry. Water Science and Technology 35:347-356.
Easton, M.D.L. 1998. Assessment of nuclear DNA damage in the red blood cells of various populations of juvenile chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in Kitimat Arm. Presented at 25th Aquatic Toxicity Workshop, Quebec City. October 18-21, 1998.
Easton, M.D.L., R.K. Misra and G.M. Kruzynski. 1998. Genotoxic effect of bleached Kraft mill effluent on juvenile chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) – Revisited. Poster Presentation at NHEERL Workshop at Cary, NC.
Misra, R.K. and M.D.L. Easton. 1999. On the number of morphometric characters used in fish stock delineation studies employing a Manova analysis. Fisheries Research. 42:191-194
Misra, R.K. and M.D.L. Easton. 1999. A comment on analyzing flow cytometric data for comparison of mean values of the coefficient of variation of the G1 peak. Cytometry. 36:112-116.
M.D.L. Easton, D. Luszniak and E. Von der Geest. 2002. Preliminary examination of contaminant loadings in farmed salmon, wild salmon and commercial salmon feed. Chemosphere. 46:1053-1074.
M.D.L. Easton. 2002. Genotoxicity and PAHs. Platform presentation at the meeting of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. Salt Lake City, Utah.
A. Farag, T. May, G.D. Marty, M.D.L. Easton, E.E. Little and L. Cleveland. 2004. The potential for chromium to adversely affect the health of chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in the Hanford Reach of the Columbia River, Washington, USA. In preparation for Aquatic Toxicology.
COMPANY WEBSITE
http://www.intl-ecogen.com
Some Recent Clients:
• Alcan Aluminum of Canada
• Canadian Wildlife Service
• Department of Defense
• The David Suzuki Foundation
• Environment Canada
• University of Idaho
• Lheidli T'enneh Indian Band
• Nlaka'pamux Tribal Council
• Oak Ridge National Laboratory
• Syncrude
• Trident Seafoods
• U.S. Geological Survey
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
• University of Saskatchewan
• Western College of Veterinary Medicine
Species examined for DNA damage:
• Perch
• Juvenile chinook salmon (3 projects)
• Rainbow trout
• Redbreast sunfish
• White sturgeon
• Bald eagle
• Black-capped chickadee
• Black guillemot
• Kestrel
• Richardson’s ground squirrel
Any vertebrate species can be analysed. A blood sample gives the cleanest signal, although solid tissue analysis is possible.
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