Dr. Nerissa D. Salayo got her B.Sc. in Agricultural Economics at the University of the Philippines in Los Banos, Laguna in 1984, M.Sc. Fisheries Economics from Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia in 1989, and Ph.D. in Economics from Griffith University in Australia in 1999. Aside from work experience in the Philippines, she has worked with international organizations such as the ASEAN Plant Quarantine Center and Training Institute in Malaysia (1990-93) and The World Fish Center in Penang, Malaysia (2004-05) as Regional Consultant and Project Leader. She gained familiarity and expertise in social science issues in fisheries in Southeast and South Asia through on-site project consultations with national counterparts. She prepares feasibility of fisheries development projects, especially on appropriate aquaculture livelihoods for developing countries. At SEAFDEC/AQD (2006 to present), she has been implementing community-based resource enhancement of threatened species in Sagay Marine Reserve in Negros Occidental, Philippines.