Fisheries and coastal development in a small island context: the past, present and future
Studies within the project
Beatrice Krooks is exploring the historicial relations between fish and fishermen, by analyzing fishbones assemblages, to improve sustainable fishery. More about Beatrice's research.
Chiara D'Agata investigates Gotland’s coastal habitats to understand the relationship between the marine resources and human well-being. More about Chiara's research.
About the project
The overall purpose of this transdisciplinary project is to combine coastal and fisheries development in a small island context in the past with the present to help develop sustainable ways forward. The project is conducted in collaboration between the Department of Archaeology and Ancient History and the Department of Earth Sciences at Uppsala University.
Understanding the long-term formation of coastal areas, changes in marine resources and management of marine resources, along with the present state and societal understanding of coastal resources and resource use, is crucial for the protection and restoration of coastal zones and associated marine resources in the future. Based on the knowledge of these long-term dynamics, the project aims to facilitate strategic, evidence-based decision-making and management for effective sustainable coastal and fisheries development that balances the needs of people and planet now and in the future.
Chiara D'Agata
For my PhD, I am focusing on sustainable fisheries and coastal development from an island perspective. The overall aim of my project is to expand our understanding of coastal habitats, and in particular shallow water bays, their role in supporting healthy fisheries, and the factors influencing the broader social-ecological system, to identify challenges and opportunities for sustainability.
I am adopting a multidisciplinary approach, combining ecological surveys with interview studies with stakeholders, to investigate the main social and ecological factors at play in coastal development and fisheries.
My work runs in collaboration with a PhD student from the department of Archaeology and Ancient History at Uppsala University, Beatrice Krooks. Together we investigate how human responses to past challenges and environmental conditions can inform us on the present and help us developing adaptive strategies for a sustainable use of coastal resources.
My research group is led by Associate Professor Lina Mtwana Nordlund and include Sieglind Wallner Hahn, Johann Stiepani, Linda Eggertsen, and Adrianus Both. Our group focuses on sustainable coastal development, fisheries management, and seagrass and other coastal habitats functionality and conservation, both in the Baltic Sea and in tropical marine systems.
About Chiara
I am a marine ecologist with a focus on marine ecosystem structure, biodiversity, the interactions between humans and coastal habitats, and finding ways to promote a sustainable use of marine resources. I obtained a BSc in Zoology from University College Cork, Ireland, followed by a MSc in Marine Biology from Stockholm University, Sweden. For my master’s thesis I investigated how different social and ecological factors shape small-scale fisheries in Mozambique, combining semi-structured interviews with data from ecological surveys and habitat mapping. After my graduation I worked as a research and field assistant at Stockholm University and for private consultancy firms, focusing primarily on Baltic ecology and environmental monitoring of fresh-r and marine waters. In 2017 I joined the Baltic National Monitoring Program of vegetated bottoms, where I worked until 2020.
Supervisors
- Wiebren Boonstra, Professor at the Department of Earth Sciences; Natural Resources and Sustainable Development
- Sieglind Wallner-Hahn, Researcher at the Department of Earth Sciences; Natural Resources and Sustainable Development
- Helene Martinsson-Wallin, Department of Archaeology, Ancient History and Conservation; Archaeology
- Tom Staveley, Researcher at the Department of Aquatic Resources
PhD student at Department of Earth Sciences, (Natural Resources and Sustainable Development)