TBRP's Chief Science Advisor, Dr. John Mark Dean, has had a long and illustrious career in marine science. Since earning his Ph.D. in Biological Sciences (Ecology) from Purdue University in 1962, John has had an enviable life. He has authored many scientific papers and taught legions of college and graduate students in various marine science classes. John has been an advisor to many institutions, businesses and governmental programs. Just prior to being recruited to join the team John was with The University of South Carolina as a Distinguished Professor Emeritus and Senior Fellow in Science and Ocean Policy at the Baruch Institute for Marine and Coastal Sciences. John has been responsible for developing the TBRP research objectives, sourcing satellite tags and developing protocols for deploying PSATs. Always fun to have out on the water, John is also quite fond of Costa Rican pineapple and watermelon!

From searching for ancient petroglyphs in the high deserts of the North American Southwest, to photographing the Baird's Tapir in the tropical rainforests of Central America, odds are that you will find Lawson trekking in one of the planet’s remote, natural wonders. A scuba diver with 35 years of underwater experience, he has lived 11 years in Central America, guiding divers through the rich marine environment of Costa Rica's Pacific coast. An underwater camera operator, whose credits include National Geographic Producer, he now documents the numerous challenges we currently face in protecting the Earth’s oceans. Lawson is responsible for all the cool underwater video used by The Billfish Research Project. 

Jenny has been with the team from the very first tagging expedition. Her primary responsibility has been to catch the sailfish that are to be tagged with PSATs. Jenny's considerable skills as an angler have resulted in the fish being brought to the boat in record time which minimizes the stress on the animal. This is important for the fish's post release survival. She also makes a great bacon bagel for breakfast!

Georgia is a Scuba instructor trainer who has lived in Costa Rica for over a decade managing a professional diving school. She started her scuba diving career back in 2002 when she learned to dive in England. Her passion has always been the ocean. Having studied animal physiology and wildlife management in university, she jumped at the chance to assist and work with The Billfish Research Project. In addition to her role as Safety Diver for the project Georgia brings her enthusiasm and observation skills to the project by assisting with behavioral observations upon release of the sailfish. And most appreciated by the team, she keeps a keen eye on us while we're underwater!

Dr. Eric Hoffmayer is currently a Research Fishery Biologist with National Marine Fisheries Service, Southeast Fisheries Science Center, Mississippi Laboratories.  He received his Ph.D. from the University of Mississippi in 2003, where he studied the physiology of coastal shark species.  Since obtaining his doctorate, Dr. Hoffmayer has been a principal investigator on numerous research projects, where he has studied a wide variety of large pelagic species.  He is an expert in this field based on his 15 years of experience studying sharks and other large pelagic species in the Gulf of Mexico and publishing over 40 scientific papers on this subject matter.  He has broad research interests that encompass such areas as essential fish habitat, movement and habitat use patterns, life history, and ecological physiology of fishes. 

Eric currently lives in Ocean Springs, Mississippi with his wife Regan and his two daughters.