Golden Fish welcomes Clara to the team!

Clara Obregón Lafuente has joined the Golden Fish team as a PhD student in the Centre for Fish and Fisheries Research at Murdoch University. She comes from Spain and is interested in fisheries management, socio-economic and socio-ecological resilience and sustainable use of marine resources in the context of small-scale and recreational fisheries.

Clara completed a Masters in Marine Resources Development and Protection at the Centre for Marine Biodiversity and Biotechnology at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh (UK). During that time, she investigated the status of the Red Grouper (Epinephelus morio) fishery in Yucatan (Mexico) and the impacts of overfishing on local fishers. This involved Clara analysing large amounts of data on grouper catches compared to those of adjacent fishery species as well as conducted landing surveys in local ports and interviewing with local fishers.

After finishing her Masters, Clara went to back to Spain and worked with small-scale and artisanal fisheries at the Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies, before going to Madagascar with WWF to investigate the management of small-scale fisheries in a mangrove region. She ten working with the Zoological Society of London (UK), where she mainly focused on conservation of different fish species, including the iconic and Critically Endangered European Eel (Anguilla anguilla) and the European smelt (Osmerus eperlanus).

Now at Murdoch University, Clara will now focus her research on the socio-economic values of two small-scale and recreational fisheries in the south-western regions of Australia: the Blue Swimmer Crab (Portunus armatus) and the Black Bream (Acanthopagrus butcheri) fisheries.

Welcome to the project Clara!