Dr Owen Michael Exeter (he/him)

I am a Postdoctoral researcher in the Exeter Marine research group. My research aims to improve monitoring strategies that underpin marine protected areas (MPAs) by applying a range of tracking and camera technologies. This research is particularly crucial to understanding and communicating the effectiveness of MPAs for safeguarding marine biodiversity. I am particularly passionate about research that has direct, tangible implications for conservation and management.

My NERC GW4+ PhD studentship was a collaborative partnership with the Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority and Natural England, focusing on developing resource-efficient survey methodologies to support a network of MPAs around the Isles of Scilly archipelago. By deploying baited underwater camera systems (BRUVS) we assessed diverse marine communities encompassing sharks, fish, and crustaceans within an array of habitats such as seagrass beds, kelp forests, and deepwater reefs. The data produced from these BRUVS surveys provided a baseline of marine health for the region and helped develop indicators for tracking MPA effectiveness into the future. We hope this work can act as blueprint for designing novel, cost-effect monitoring of inshore MPAs in the UK and coastal states more generally.

In addition to my PhD research I have worked on projects relating to the spatial ecology of UK sharks and tuna, novel methods for mapping fisheries in data poor regions and surveying marine protected areas in West Africa.

Areas of interest:

Marine spatial ecology

Fisheries management

Remote sensing

Biologging

Career:

2025 - present Postdoctoral Research Associate - Marine biodiveristy of the Sharjah and the Gulf of Oman

2021 - 2025 PhD Biological sciences (NERC GW4+ funded) - 'Monitoring Marine Protected Areas. A case study of the Isles of Scilly archipelago.'  (Univeristy of Exeter)

2017 - 2021 Research Assistant - SEAWave, Shark catch and release survivability in recreational fisheries, Shining light on data poor fisheries in Myanmar, Atlantic bluefin tuna in the English Channel and Celtic Sea, English Marine Spatial Planning and the Ocean Health Index, Autonomous underwater videography and tracking of basking sharks (Univeristy of Exeter)

2016 - 2017 MSc Conservation Science and Policy (Univeristy of Exeter)

2008 - 2011 BA Politics and International Relations