My overarching research interests are geared towards reducing the negative impacts of commercial fisheries on non-target and sensitive species. I work closely with commercial fishers and industry personnel to come up with practical solutions to bycatch problems that can be implemented into current fishing practices. I am very interested in the physiology of capture stress and use a variety of physiological techniques to estimate post-release survival rates of sharks and rays. This data is used to improve handling and discard practice recommendations for a multitude of fisheries and to improve stock assessments. In addition, I use a combination of telemetry technologies to elucidate the biotic and abiotic drivers of marine animal movements to devise strategies to reduce interaction rates between sharks and different fishing gears.

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To view Melanie's publications: click here