Michael is a Principal Advisor Aquaculture Operational Policy in the Aquaculture Settlement and Operational Policy team at Fisheries New Zealand, a business unit of the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI).

He is a respected resource management and coastal planning expert, with 20 years of experience in both the private and public sector. For the last 15 years he has been part of the aquaculture team at MPI and its predecessor agencies, with a focus on working with Treaty partners, the aquaculture industry, central and local government agencies, and other stakeholders to improve policy and regulations for aquaculture at both a national and regional level.

He is a member of the New Zealand Planning Institute and the New Zealand Coastal Society, and lives in Whangārei, New Zealand.