Dr Tara Hooper

Tara has a BSc in Ocean Science with Underwater Studies from the University of Plymouth and an MSc in Marine Environmental Protection from the University of Wales, Bangor.  Her career started with cetacean research projects in New Zealand, Canada and Mexico, and she spent six years on the Mauritian island of Rodrigues managing a broader marine research and education initiative, which focused on the development of marine protected areas. 

Tara’s combined interests in tools to improve policy decisions and in renewable energy led her to her PhD work valuing estuarine mudflats in the context of a tidal barrage development. She is also working on projects to examine the potential for the co-location of offshore wind farms with crab and lobster fisheries, determine public perceptions of offshore wind farms; and obtain values for a range of marine ecosystem services, including recreation, carbon sequestration and the role of nursery habitats in supporting commercial fish stocks.