Elise Quinn MSci Marine Biology, 2017
Marine Stewardship Council
Studying at the National Oceanography Centre Southampton, you really will be surrounded by experts in your field from day one.
My experience of the MSci Marine Biology course was fantastic. Studying at the National Oceanography Centre Southampton, you really will be surrounded by experts in your field from day one. You will also quickly become part of the tight knit community that is NOCS, surrounded by people from a diverse range of backgrounds who all share similar interests and values. The balance between lectures, fieldwork and laboratory time kept the work interesting and hands on while still giving me the necessary foundation in academic writing and in the production of coursework. The teaching staff were always great, and when I was struggling with work in my second year, I realised that if you take the initiative to ask for help, most lecturers will go the extra mile to help you develop, work on feedback and grow to be a successful marine biologist.
In the February of my final year, I was offered a job working as a Marine Science Officer for the Eastern Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority (Eastern IFCA), working on the science and assessments used to inform fisheries and marine protected area (MPA) management out to 6 nautical miles along the east coast of England. I started this job two weeks after handing in my master’s project and it has been a fantastic introduction to UK fisheries and MPA management, as well as practical field work and surveying. I would never have been able to get this role without having studied fisheries ecology in my third year, and without the amazing support of great pals and a kind lecturer who helped me to prepare for the interview.
After three years at Eastern IFCA, working half of my time in the field and half behind a desk, I am now moving into an exciting new role working for the Marine Stewardship Council, reviewing the standards and processes used to certify international fisheries as sustainable. I look forward to taking everything I learned at Southampton with me into this role.