Celebrating International Women’s Day 2023
The Missing Salmon Alliance welcomes International Women’s Day 2023, and in celebration, spoke to our Marine Data Modelling Scientist, Emma Tyldesley, whose invaluable work aids the Missing Salmon Alliance initiatives…
MSA Marine Data Modelling Scientist, Emma Tyldesley during her trip to the International Year of the Salmon Symposium, Vancouver last year (2022)
What is your area of expertise, and in what way are you involved in advancing initiatives within the world of conservation and the MSA in particular?
I’m an oceanographer at University of Strathclyde, working with the Missing Salmon Alliance (MSA) to build a solid science basis for the conservation of wild salmon. I use real-world and 3D ocean model data to map changes in the marine ecosystem supporting salmon. We want to know what affects marine survival of wild salmon and how we can buffer their populations against future change. This is all part of the MSA's Likely Suspects Framework; creating an ecosystem and evidence-based approach to salmon management.
As a woman, have you seen progressions being made in terms of women and girls being provided full and equal access to conservation opportunities?
My background is in maths and programming, which are sometimes seen as male-dominated fields, but I’ve never felt that being a woman has reduced the opportunities available for working in conservation science. If you’re a woman who’s into quantitative science, there are so many roles available to you in environmental science and education.
From your own experience, what advice would you give to women and girls who are looking to enter a career in conservation?
You might worry about the feasibility of working in conservation science and having a family but so many things have improved in recent years to make a work-life balance possible for both men and women, from shared parental leave to the normalisation of part-time hours and working remotely. There are also funding opportunities specifically designed to break down financial barriers to women continuing their careers in science.
As an Alliance of six organisations, we will build on the existing work of our partners and maximise our impact by taking a coordinated approach and vital action in order to halt and reverse the decline of wild Atlantic salmon.
The goal of the Missing Salmon Alliance is to build an evidence-base to influence national and international decision-makers to regulate activities that adversely impact wild Atlantic salmon.
The Missing Salmon Alliance
The MSA is comprised of the following members:
Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust, Atlantic Salmon Trust, the Angling Trust with Fish Legal, The Rivers Trust and Fisheries Management Scotland.
https://www.missingsalmonalliance.org