Dr Claire Szostek
Shellfish Centre Science Officer
Room: Floor 2, Marine Centre Wales Phone: +44 (0)1248 388472
Email: c.szostek@bangor.ac.uk
Web: Marine Ecology Group, Google Scholar, Research Gate
I am a marine fisheries ecologist with a keen interest in combining practical and numerical methods to provide data to inform sustainable fisheries management under three themes: i) stock assessment, ii) habitat impacts, iii) effective management, fulfilled through collaborative science-industry projects. I completed my PhD at Bangor University in 2015. My research focused on the king scallop fishery in the English Channel (worth >£60 million per annum) and was funded by the UK scallop fishing industry. I actively engaged with key stakeholders including fishermen, processors and government agencies to fill vital data gaps for the scallop fishery in relation to quantifying the spatial extent of inshore and offshore scallop fishing effort in the English Channel, population genetics and fishery bycatch. I also gathered data from commercial vessels and from scientific surveys on board the RV Prince Madog, to quantify the habitat impacts of the commercial fishery within the context of the seabed environments present across the fishery.
I have since worked with Seafish (www.seafish.org) on developing the data used to inform the RASS tool (Risk Assessment for Sourcing Seafood). Using published data on fishing gear seabed penetration depths alongside numerical modelling techniques, I evaluated the benthic impacts of standard and modified gears and produced a tool for fisheries managers. I am currently working on collaborative projects with industry partners to increase and enhance shellfish and aquaculture production in Wales (www.shellfish.bangor.ac.uk), including developing innovative shellfish population survey methods and sampling gears.
Qualifications
- PhD: Marine Fisheries Ecology
2011–2015 - MSc: Marine Environmental Protection
2010–2011
Teaching and Supervision
PhD supervision:
Adam Delargy. Science to underpin a strategy for sustainable scallop fisheries in Welsh waters. Co-supervisor with Michel Kaiser. 2016-2019.
I have previously supervised Undergraduate interns and M-Degree students.
Teaching:
I have taught on Undergraduate field courses both in the UK and at overseas research institutions (Virginia Institute for Marine Science, USA). I have also taught on an Introductory R skills course for MSc students.
Postgraduate Project Opportunities
Publications
2021
- PublishedSpatial and temporal scales of coral reef fish ecological research and management: a systematic map protocol
Lawrence, A., Heenan, A., Levine, A., Haddaway, N., Powell, F., Wedding, L., Roche, R., Lawrence, P., Szostek, C., Ford, H., Southworth, L., Sannassy Pilly, J., Richardson, L. & Williams, G. J., 25 Jan 2021, In : Environmental Evidence. 10, 3.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
2020
- PublishedNew insights on the population genetic structure of the great scallop (Pecten maximus) in the English Channel coupling microsatellite data and demogenetic simulations.
Handal, W., Szostek, C., Hold, N., Andrello, M., Thiébaut, E., Ewan, H., Lefebvre, G., Elodie, B., Jolivet, A., Nicolle, A., Boyé, A., Foucher, E., Boudry, P. & Charrier, G., 31 Oct 2020, In : Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems. 30, 10, p. 1841-1853
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
2018
- PublishedA comparison of VMS and AIS data: the effect of data coverage and vessel position recording frequency on estimates of fishing footprints
Shepperson, J., Hintzen, N. T., Szostek, C., Bell, E., Murray, L. & Kaiser, M., 1 May 2018, In : ICES Journal of Marine Science. 75, 3, p. 988-998
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article - PublishedResponse of benthic fauna to experimental bottom fishing: a global meta-analysis
Sciberras, M., Hiddink, J. G., Jennings, S., Szostek, C. L., Hughes, K. M., Kneafsey, B., Clarke, L. J., Ellis, N., Rijnsdorp, A. D., McConnaughey, R. A., Hilborn, R., Collie, J. S., Pitcher, R., Amoroso, R. O., Parma, A. M., Suuronen, P. & Kaiser, M. J., Jul 2018, In : Fish and Fisheries. 19, 4, p. 698-715
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article - PublishedTowards spatial management of fisheries in the Gulf: benthic diversity, habitat and fish distributions from Qatari waters
Walton, M., Hayes, J., Al-Ansi, M., Abdallah, M., Al Maslamani, I., Al-Mohannadi, M., Al-Shaikh, I., D'Urban Jackson, T., Szostek, C., Egerton, J., Kaiser, M. & Le Vay, L., 1 Jan 2018, In : ICES Journal of Marine Science. 75, 1, p. 178-189 12 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
2017
- PublishedFilling the gap: Using fishers’ knowledge to map the extent and intensity of fishing activity
Szostek, C., Kaiser, M., Murray, L. & Bell, E., 20 Jun 2017, In : Marine Environmental Research.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article - PublishedGlobal analysis of depletion and recovery of seabed biota following bottom trawling disturbance
Hiddink, J., Jennings, S., Sciberras, M., Szostek, C., Hughes, K., Ellis, N., Rijnsdorp, A. D., McConnaughey, R. A., Mazor, T., Hilborn, R., Collie, J. S., Pitcher, R., Amoroso, R. O., Parma, A. M., Suuronen, P. & Kaiser, M., 1 Aug 2017, In : Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 114, 31, p. 8301-8306
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article - PublishedRegional variation in bycatches associated with king scallop (Pecten maximus L.) dredge fisheries
Szostek, C., Kaiser, M., Bell, E., Murray, L. & Lambert, G., Feb 2017, In : Marine Environmental Research. 123, p. 1-13 13 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
2015
- PublishedNatural vs. fishing disturbance: drivers of community composition on traditional king scallop, Pecten maximus, fishing grounds
Szostek, C., Murray, L., Bell, E., Rayner, G. & Kaiser, M., 7 Sep 2015, In : ICES Journal of Marine Science. 73, 4, p. i70-i83
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
2013
- PublishedEffects of elevated levels of suspended particulate matter and burial on juvenile king scallops Pecten maximus
Szostek, C., Davies, A. & Hinz, H., 2013, In : Marine Ecology Progress Series. 474, p. 155-165 10 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
Projects
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01/02/2020 – 30/09/2020 (Finished)
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01/02/2020 – 30/09/2020 (Finished)