SAMARCH research group at Bournemouth University

About Us

SAMARCH – SAlmonid Management Round the Channel/

The SAMARCH project https://samarch.org/ aims to provide new scientific evidence to inform the management of salmon and sea trout (salmonids) in the estuaries and coastal waters of the French and English sides of the Channel.

This five-year (2017-2022) €7.8m project is being part-funded by the France England Interreg Channel programme. BU is one of the 10 partners from France and England who include stakeholders, research institutions and regulatory organisations. Professor Genoveva Esteban leads BU’s contribution to the project.

The Team

Genoveva Esteban

Professor Esteban leads the Educational Work package which aims to train students in the management of coastal and transitional waters. Since the project started, 50 undergraduate and post-graduate students have carried out work placements with SAMARCH, which Genoveva organises. Other work package in which Genoveva is involved is in Communication and Science Dissemination and Outreach. SAMARCH takes part in several annual Science Festivals and other events that Genoveva organises with local communities and national organisations. The events are always supported by students, who gain skills in communication and public-engagement. Blogs written by the students about their experiences can be found here https://samarch.org/blog

Katie Thompson

Katie is a Research Assistant for SAMARCH. She is also doing her PhD student in collaboration with the Zoological Society of London. She recently joined the SAMARCH team where she will be working with Genoveva Esteban on delivering key work packages of the project. This includes participating in outreach, science dissemination and communication activities. She will help with the organisation of science public-engagement events and engage with an online audience as well as working with students and writing research blogs.

Olivia Simmons

Olivia is a PhD student with Bournemouth University and the Salmon and Trout Research Centre at GWCT as part of the SAMARCH project. For her PhD, she is testing the hypothesis that current declines in anadromous salmonid populations are a function of changes in their migration phenology. More specifically, she will be studying Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) in the River Frome and is interested in what intrinsic factors (such as the length and weight of juvenile salmon) and extrinsic factors (such as water temperature) affect the likelihood of salmon surviving to adulthood and migrating back to their natal rivers, where they lay their eggs. Atlantic salmon have a complicated life cycle, and there is still a lot to learn about their long migrations. The findings from Olivia’s research will help inform management and conservation efforts for salmon in this region.

Placement students:

Fran Briggs

Yums Cleary

Adam Kial

Marcus Lambert

Adelle Murie

Tom Pleece Holland

Mazie Swanbrow