Professor Southgate is Deputy Director of the Australian Centre for Pacific Islands Research. His research focuses on tropical aquaculture with particular emphasis on pearl oysters and other molluscs, marine invertebrates and marine ornamental species. Development of sustainable tropical aquaculture industries and aquaculture-based livelihood opportunities in coastal communities, are among his major research interests. Professor Southgate has active research projects in many Pacific island and south-east Asian countries, and in east Africa and Central America, and many of his research student’s work in partner countries. Professor Southgate co-edited and co-authored the best-selling undergraduate textbook for Aquaculture (Lucas & Southgate, 'Aquaculture: Farming Aquatic Animals and Plants') and the first monograph on the biology and culture of pearl oysters (Southgate & Lucas, 'The Pearl Oyster'). He joined UniSC in January 2015.
Current research grants
| Investigators and title of project | Funding body | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Southgate, P.C., Sharma, S. and Ngaluafe, P. Towards more profitable and sustainable mabé pearl and shell-based livelihoods in the western Pacific. 2023-2027. Project Leader. | ACIAR | $2,966,250 |
| Southgate, P.C. Maintaining momentum within the pearl livelihoods sector in the western Pacific. 2022-2023. | ACIAR | $250,000 |
| Southgate, P.C. Increasing technical skills supporting community-based sea cucumber production in Vietnam and the Philippines. 2018-2024. Project Leader. | ACIAR | A$2,955,000 |
| Ninh, N.H. and Southgate, P.C. Half-pearl industry development in Tonga and Vietnam. 2017-2024. | ACIAR | A$1,450,000 |
| Foale, S., Militz, T., Hair, C. and Southgate, P.C. Improving technical and institutional capacity to support development of mariculture based livelihoods and industry in New Ireland, Papua New Guinea. 2016-2021. | ACIAR | A$1,742,000 |
| Underhill, S., Mahony, I., and Southgate, P.C. Pacific Agribusiness Research for Development Initiative Phase 2 (PARDI 2). 2017-2023. | ACIAR | A$2,603,000 |
| Lal, M.M. and Southgate, P.C. Small Project Award for John Allwright Fellowship Returnees. 2019-2020. | ACIAR | A$9,930 |
| Southgate, P.C., Foale, S., Ngaluafe, P., Wani, J., Ravitu, N. Developing pearl industry based livelihoods in the Western Pacific. 2015-2020. Project Leader. | ACIAR | A$2,265,000 |
| Kishore, P. and Southgate, P.C. JAF - Further development of culture methods for pearl oysters in Fiji. 2016-2017. | ACIAR | A$10,000 |
| Southgate, P.C. Pearl industry research infrastructure recovery post cyclone Winston, Fiji. 2016-2017. Project Leader. | ACIAR | A$150,000 |
| Southgate, P.C., Wani, J. Mariculture development in New Ireland, Papua New Guinea. 2012-2016. Project Leader. | ACIAR | A$1,823,000 |
| Southgate, P.C.,Mills, D., Juinio-Menez, A., Nguyen, D. Expansion and diversification of production and management systems for sea cucumbers in the Philippines, Vietnam and northern Australia, 2013-2017. Project Leader. | ACIAR | A$1,747,000 |
| Southgate, P.C., Ngaluafe, P., Wani, J.,Vonokula, J. Pearl industry development in the western Pacific. 2013-2017. Project Leader. | ACIAR | A$1,154,000 |
| Southgate, P.C., Garcia-Gomez, R., Hunter, J. Understanding pearl oyster mortality in Fiji. 2014-2016. Project Leader. | ACIAR | A$150,000 |
| Southgate, P.C., Mahika, G., Tamatamah, R. Technical support for pearl culture in coastal Tanzania. 2012-2015. Project Leader. |
ACIAR | A$140,000 |
| Southgate, P.C., Narayan, D., Doton, M. Pearl livelihood development in Fiji. 2015. Project Leader. | ACIAR | A$136,000 |
| Underhill S., Stringer R., Prasad B, Bryceson K., Wallace H, Southgate P.C., Hine D., Sisifa A. Pacific Agribusiness Research for Development Initiative (PARDI). 2010-2015. Fisheries component leader. | ACIAR | A$10,000,000 |
Research areas
- Tropical aquaculture
- Biology and culture of pearl oysters and other marine invertebrates
- Nutrition of cultured aquatic animals
- Larval development and energetics (marine invertebrates)
- Developing aquaculture-based livelihoods
- Molluscan taxonomy and palaeontology
- Pacific Islands
Professor Paul Southgate's specialist area of knowledge includes, tropical aquaculture, nutrition of cultured aquatic animals, biology and culture of pearl oysters, developing aquaculture based livelihoods and molluscan taxonomy.