KATY 

PhD Candidate · Shark Researcher · National Geographic Explorer · 

​When not completing her research Katy works as a part-time guide and scientific consultant for us. 
Certification:  PADI Divemaster
Dives: 1000+
Nickname: "Love" (must be said with a Yorkshire accent) 


Katy is from Sutton-in-Craven, a small village in northern England. She became fascinated with sharks ever since she saw a photo of one in a marine life book that belonged to her grandma. She completed her PADI Divemaster in Australia when she was 19, before starting her Bachelor's degree in Marine Vertebrate Zoology at Bangor University, in which she graduated with a First Class Honours.
Katy then went on to work on various shark and marine conservation projects in Fiji, New Zealand and in the Galapagos. She then completed a Masters in Marine Environmental Management at the University of York in which her thesis focused on hammerhead shark populations in the Gulf of California. During her studies, she came to Baja California Sur to complete an internship with Pelagios Kakunja, an NGO set up in 2010 to study and protect sharks and migratory species in Mexico. She returned the following year to start her PhD at CICIMAR-IPN university. She conducts her research in Cabo Pulmo National Park, a marine protected area where a ban on fishing has allowed shark populations to flourish. Her project focuses on blacktip sharks (Carcharhinus limbatus) that form large aggregations along the coastline. She uses drones, acoustic tags, satellite tags and stable isotope analysis to study this population and in 2018 she received several grants including an Early Career Grant from the National Geographic Society. She has published lead-author scientific papers and she will become a Doctor in July 2022.