Philipp is a Dragonfly director and fisheries scientist. His expertise is in using theoretical methods, Bayesian statistical analysis and reproducible research to inform actions that promote sustainable fisheries.
Recent work has included stock assessments of New Zealand pāua (abalone) for Fisheries New Zealand and risk assessments of the threatened whale shark and oceanic whitetip shark for the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission. Philipp is a member and reviewer for several Fisheries New Zealand working groups – including the Rock Lobster, Shellfish and Statistics & Assessment Methods working groups.
Two of the most comprehensive impacts on marine life globally are overfishing and climate change. Since receiving a 2014 Marsden Fast-Start grant, Philipp has used eco-physiological models to research the combined effects of fishing and climate on fished ecosystems. His previous work, published in Science, showed that most fisheries bounce back when fishing is reduced to sustainable levels.
Philipp grew up in Germany and studied for a masters degree in ecological modelling at the at the Université de la Méditerranée in France. He completed a PhD in quantitative ecology at Victoria University of Wellington. This was followed by a post-doc at Rutgers University, studying the patterns and drivers of decline and recovery in fish stocks. He joined Dragonfly in 2013.
Philipp is passionate about building a greater understanding of fisheries:
An in-depth scientific understanding of any fishery is only possible by thinking broadly about the system around it – from socioeconomic to ecosystem considerations. Without that, you’re just dealing with numbers, and these can be misleading on their own. Talking to industry, NGOs and government in the process is a great way to build this understanding and improve our ability to model these systems
Selected publications
Neubauer, P., & Andersen, K. H. (2019). Thermal performance of fish is explained by an interplay between physiology, behaviour, and ecology. Conservation Physiology, 7, 1–14.
Neubauer, P., Jensen, O. P., Hutchings, J. A., & Baum, J. K. (2013). Resilience and recovery of overexploited marine populations. Science, 340(6130), 347–349. doi:10.1126/science.1230441
P. Neubauer and Y. Richard and L. Tremblay-Boyer. (2019). Alternative assessment methods for oceanic whitetip shark. WCPFC-SC15-2019/SA-WP-13. Report to the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission Scientific Committee. Fifteenth Regular Session, 12–20 August 2019, Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia.