Jenny Shepperson

Jenny is a first year PhD student at Bangor University, Wales, UK, co-funded in a Bangor University - CEFAS initiative. After completing a BSc at Cardiff University she worked as a supervisor of marine research at Archipelagos Institute of Marine Conservation  in Greece, whilst completing an MSc in Geographic Information Systems part time, as a distance learning student with Ulster University, Northern Ireland. Whilst working in Greece, Jenny realized a career in fisheries management research would combine well her interests in environmental management, along with balancing a wide range of stakeholder needs concerning a common natural resource. This led her to begin a PhD at Bangor University in October 2013, under the expert guidance of Prof. Michel Kaiser and Dr Lee Murray. Outside of studying, Jenny can be found hiking, climbing, cycling, swimming, or generally enjoying the perfect outdoor location that is North Wales.

The PhD is entitled 'Developing a spatially dynamic fishery model to engage fishermen in management strategy evaluation'. The aim is to gain a better understanding of the behavioral response of fishermen to management actions. Ultimately we hope to be able to better predict the spatial and temporal displacement of fishing effort following management, and the consequences for the ecological and economic sustainability of the fishery. This will be done through a combination of techniques, including analysis of high resolution vessel monitoring system data, and through more social-based data collection during questionnaires and a conjoint analysis. The Sawtooth software will particularly be used to help us to better understand the decisions that fishermen are faced with on a day to day basis. A better understanding of the factors that influence and restrict the activity of fishermen may help us to design better management plans that fully account for the behavioral response of fishermen.