Executive Committee
Kevin McIlwee – Chairman
Gareth Jeffreys – Vice Chairman
Emily Dow – Secretary/Education & Science Officer
Beverley Murtaugh-McIlwee – Treasurer
Non-Executive Committee
Sean Dettman
Chris Isaacs
Christopher Peach
Bob Tompkins
Meet the Chairman

Hi, I am the founder and Chairman of Jersey Marine Conservation. Recognising what an amazing underwater world we have around Jersey and wanting to protect it, I founded the organisation originally known as Jersey Seasearch. From those beginnings, we now try to support those proactively wanting to be involved in Marine Conservation.
I spend my retired life organising ways to help protect Jersey’s marine species and where they live. Our Island waters may appear idyllic but the truth lies beneath the blue shimmering surface where areas once rich in species are under ever increasing threat from over fishing, various types of pollution and over use by our boating community in some areas.
I have a great team of divers, scientists, conservationists and environmentalists who proactively devote their time to protecting creatures and algae in our territorial waters.
Thank you for visiting our website. We need your help and support.
What I do
- My time is devoted between organising our projects, fund raising and getting volunteers.
- Educating our community is a key factor in securing the success of our organisation’s aims and we are grateful to Butterfield Bank for making the Marine Watch initiative possible.
- I am a great believer in well-being and see what we do as rewarding and meaningful.
- My passions are diving, photography and safeguarding our Marine Environment.
Since humble beginnings in 2011 we have created a database of hundreds of species and produced over 1000 survey reports. We have won numerous awards and play a key part in the creation of marine protected areas within our territorial waters. In 2019 and 2020 we ran the hugely successful World Wetlands Day (Butterfield Marine Mission) events and we are hoping to build on our success in 2021 & 2022.