“What is northern Peru’s devil ray fishery worth?”Using scenario interviews, we documented the socioeconomic value of mobula landings in Zorritos, northern Peru. Moreover, we showed that socioeconomic factors influence local fishers’ ability and capacity to comply with hypothetical future mobula conservation scenarios while gaining general insights into the complexity of mobula conservation in this area.

“The past and present of elasmobranchs in Curaçao”Through a novel combination of Fisher‘s Local Ecological Knowledge (FLEK) and biological data retrieved from Baited Remote Underwater Video Systems (BRUVs) we established past and current elasmobranch (sharks and rays) diversity hotspots in Curaçao’s waters. The direct involvement of the fishing community is of high importance to this project. Firstly, to demonstrate the potential of FLEK in scientific studies. And secondly, to include the community‘s perspective on future management for a more sustainable conservation approach.This project is part of the Conservation Ecology Group. It was financially supported by RUG, Fona Conservation, Sharkproject International, Deutsche Stiftung Meeresschutz and Treub Maatschappij.

During this position I compiled a trait database of marine macrobenthic species in the Netherlands. Through literature research and existing databases I assigned scores to several life history traits. The database contributes to research about the vulnerability of benthic species to anthropogenic pressures and disturbances.