Claire has over a decade of research experience in marine fisheries and benthic ecology and more recently interdisciplinary social science. Claire has worked closely with the UK fishing industry, government and third-sector organisations and across the science/policy interface throughout her career, participating in a range of engagement activities including science-industry workshops, international conferences and management meetings.
Claire is involved is a variety of industry and EU funded projects to quantitatively assess the ecological impacts of human activities, such as fisheries and offshore energy and has translated data into management tools; including tools to quantify the outcomes of spatial and technical gear management measures for bottom-towed gear fisheries, and to assess the ecosystem service outcomes of offshore wind farms. At PML, Claire utilises her expertise to support the development of processes and tools to apply Ecosystem Service approaches to pertinent challenges facing the marine renewable energy sector, in the drive towards UK net zero carbon emissions and “marine net gain’ policy objectives. Claire also coordinates the PML Restoring Biodiversity challenge and sits on the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion committee.
Claire’s doctoral research at Bangor University focussed on ecological and socio-economic factors in the UK king scallop fishery, involving mapping the extent of inshore and offshore fishing activity, assessing the benthic impact of dredging over gradient of fishing effort and assessing genetic and physical connectivity between populations. Claire has a strong background in statistical modelling, spatial analysis and habitat mapping, complemented by extensive collaboration with industry and survey work at sea.