Sarah graduates with 1st class Honours!

We are delighted to announce that Sarah Poulton has graduated with a 1st Class Honours degree in Marine Science for a thesis entitled “Beyond biology: social dimensions of Blue Swimmer Crab fishing, restocking and other management options”. Well done Sarah; this is very well deserved!

Sarah set out to determine the social dimensions of recreational Blue Swimmer Crab (Portunus armatus) fishers using the Peel-Harvey Estuary. She employed two sequential data collection methods, i.e. initial face-to-face interviews and a subsequent online survey, to identify the primary motivations of fishers, their perceptions towards management and their beliefs and attitudes towards restocking.

Sarah said “My Honours journey was an incredible experience that challenged my capabilities and gave me the confidence to conduct independent research.”

“I thoroughly enjoyed my project, especially delving into the social side of fisheries science which was a new and exciting topic. The highlight of my research was conducting the face-to-face interviews. Meeting the residents of the Peel region and listening to their motivations and views regarding the Blue Swimmer Crab fishery was both interesting and insightful!”

As part of her project, we had meetings with the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (formerly the Dept of Fisheries). After impressing in these Sarah was fortunate to attain a short-term position as a Research Survey Officer with DPIRD and is loving the work. “Hopefully in the near future I can acquire a permanent contract with DPIRD, or join a local government in their Environmental Department.”

A copy of Sarah’s oral defense presentation can be downloaded here and we will post here thesis once it is finalized.