Don came to the Institute in 1977 as a San Diego State University graduate student working on the growth characteristics of striped bass. He has participated on numerous Institute programs studying gray whales, assessing noise effects on animals, minimizing killer whale impacts on fishing operations and, closest to his interest, the development of marine finfish aquaculture. Don has led the Institute since 1996.

Don was instrumental in initiating the Ocean Resources Enhancement and Hatchery Program (OREHP), a highly productive partnership with the recreational and commercial fishing communities and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife created to investigate ways to counteract the depletion of California’s coastal marine fisheries through stock replenishment. He is also responsible for the planning and construction of the Leon Raymond Hubbard, Jr. Marine Fish Hatchery in Carlsbad, where they have reared, raised and released more than 2.4 million white seabass into California waters. Don is also working to permit our nation’s first fish farm located in federal waters off the coast of southern California to revitalize our regional seafood industry and to help offset our dependence on imported seafood. Don has served on many local and national boards including the NOAA Fisheries Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee, as President of the San Diego Chapter of Sigma Xi, and on the San Diego Mayor’s Clean Water Task Force.