“In my new role, I hope to bring my expertise in the field of survey and regulation within inshore fisheries and marine conservation, in order to identify and share best practice and to promote sustainable activities and habitat recovery.”
Dr Ciocan has also recently been working on a project to tackle a so far unresearched contaminant of the marine environment – fibreglass reinforced plastic. As boats made with this age and decay they release microplastics and glass fibres into marine habitats, threatening aquatic organisms.
As well as engaging the local community to help deal with this form of marine pollution, the project will soon be testing a newly developed biocomposite material to minimise the impact of fibreglass on the environment. Work on the new material has been carried out by postgraduate student Claudine Anne-Marie Annels, with support from the Friends of Chichester Harbour Charity and Natural Environment Group, Solent.