DR LUCY OMEYER
Lucy recently completed her PhD at the University of Exeter investigating life-history traits of adult Mediterranean sea turtles under the supervision of Prof Annette Broderick and Prof Brendan Godley. She is now a Post-Doctoral Research Associate at the University of Exeter with five years of experience in marine vertebrate research acquired both in the field and working on data modelling. Her current research, funded by Fishtek Marine, Whale and Dolphin Conservation, and the MAVA foundation, focuses on 1) bycatch mitigation strategies for elasmobranch species, marine mammals, and sea turtles, under the supervision of Prof Brendan Godley, Prof Annette Broderick, Dr Phil Doherty, and Dr Robin Snape; and 2) sea turtle population assessments in North Cyprus, the Republic of the Congo, and the Cayman Islands, under the supervision of Prof Annette Broderick, Prof Brendan Godley, Dr TJ McKinley, and myself. More broadly, her interests lie in the field of marine conservation and ecology.
Lucy also works part-time as a project assistant for Prof Brendan Godley and myself, managing multi-partner collaborations with industry and international institutions and universities around the world.
JOSIE PALMER
Josie is a current PhD student at the University of Exeter studying the impacts of small-scale fisheries on marine turtle populations, under the supervision of Prof Annette Broderick, Prof Brendan Godley, Dr Robin Snape and myself. She completed a Bachelors degree in Zoology at Cardiff University in 2017 where she evaluated relatedness and reconstructed a genetic pedigree of a Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust captive greater flamingo population. She then went on to earn a Masters at the University of Exeter, identifying and quantifying the diet and macroplastic consumption of marine turtles in the Eastern Mediterranean Basin. This sparked her interest in anthropogenic stressors on marine species leading in to her work as an onboard observer for the Cyprus Bycatch Project and a Team Leader for the Society for the Protection of Turtles, conducting research on nesting female and their protection in North Cyprus. Her current work focuses on quantifying the rates of bycatch of marine turtles and evaluating the potential use of mitigation techniques and technologies such as turtle LED lights to reduce levels of bycatch in the nearshore waters of North Cyprus. The long-term goals of this research are to implement more sustainable fishing practices, inform and guide future legislation and implement a marine protected area in the most heavily affected coastal waters of North Cyprus. Outside of her studies, Josie enjoys many of the opportunities a coastal lifestyle offers being an avid diver, paddle boarding and hiking along the beautiful Cornish coastline.