Maisie Evans

Having researched climate impacts on marine mammal distributions for my BSc dissertation, I moved to the University of East Anglia to undertake a Master's in which I developed an interest in fisheries bycatch. Working with the Centre for Environment, Fisheries, and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), my MSc thesis investigated shark interactions with commercial fisheries around the UK. This has formed the basis of my PhD work in marine ecology where I have assessed and quantified interactions between sharks listed on the Convention for Migratory Species (CMS) and commercial fisheries in the Northwest European shelf seas. This has included developing methods for estimating fleet-level (dead) discards for use in data-limited stock assessments, and building seasonal habitat suitability models to promote a proactive approach to fisheries and conservation management.
 

Between finishing my MSc and starting my PhD, I taught fieldwork skills to school groups (Year 1 - Year 12) in geography and biology with the Field Studies Council. In April 2022, I began working in the finance and internal travel departments at Operation Wallacea and spent 2 months as their volunteer coordinator (and when needed, camp manager and lecturer) in Honduras (Cusuco National Park) for their conservation expeditions. Alongside my studies, I spent nine years working as a swim instructor and work adhoc for Operation Wallacea.