I am currently a PhD student at the University of St Andrews where I am researching the scale, impact and potential mitigation of large marine animal entanglement in the Scottish static gear fishery.

My Fellowship focused on large whale entanglement, and learning about how the conservation, welfare and socioeconomic issues surrounding this are currently being addressed in the USA and Canada. My aim was to return to the UK with an enhanced knowledge base and improved skill set to tackle similar problems here.

I've witnessed numerous entanglements myself and been involved in working with fishers both in the UK and overseas to tackle a variety of issues facing the marine environment, as a commercial diver, crew onboard a variety of fishing and research vessels, and in several community conservation and consultancy roles.

Since completing my Fellowship I have been employed as Project Co-ordinator of the Scottish Entanglement Alliance (SEA), which works closely with the Scottish inshore fishing industry to provide a co-ordinated, comprehensive entanglement monitoring and engagement programme.