Samantha Murphy
School of Science, Engineering & Environment
Biography
I am a recent Marine Biology graduate who is undertaking an MPhil that investigates fishing effort displacement from the Dogger Bank Marine Protected Area (MPA). This research explores the spatial displacement of fishing effort and how that affects the MPA and waters beyond it's boundary. It also aims to understand the socioeconomic impact these spatial restrictions have on fishers. This is done through exploring how their effort, distance traveled and landings may differ pre and post the new byelaw.
For this research I have partnered with the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) who are providing me with the fishery data needed for analysis. The analysis itself has predominantly conducted in GIS and this software is used to visually map this displacement. Beyond this R packages are used to explore paired tests that explore if there has been any significant change in fishing behaviour pre and post byelaw.
The results will help us understand where fishers go post a displacement event, as currently much of the literature only hypothesizes these spatial trends with minimal case studies on the topic. Then it hopes to shine a light on the ecological and socioeconomic knock-on effects of creating more restrictions on where fishing activities can occur in an increasingly overcrowded ocean.
I am also a PADI divemaster certified diver and adore spending time underwater. I had a career change from an acting career and hope to bring that into this sector by finding and telling the right stories that will bridge the gap between academia and real world policy change.
Areas of Research
· Marine Conservation
· Marine policy
· Marine spatial planning
· Marine management
I have facilitated a practical lecture for third year marine biology students at The Â׸£ÀûƬ to help support their use of GIS software. This was followed up with multiple drop in sessions to further support students.
Qualifications
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Environmental Sciences
2025 - 2027 -
Marine Biology
2022 - 2025