pplications are invited for a fully funded PhD studentship evaluating the social and cultural impacts and behavioural responses of fishers to decarbonising the UK fishing fleet. This PhD is part of a broader cluster of PhD projects on Sustainable Terrestrial and Maritime Food Systems: Environmental Technologies and their Implications.
Inshore and small-scale fishing is socially and culturally important and economically critical to rural coastal communities. The combined drivers of higher fuel prices and pressure on the fishing industry to decarbonise are creating shifts in fisher behaviour and the technology used for fishing. This PhD will evaluate the current and future responses of fishers in response to the push for decarbonising the fishing fleet in UK and the policy landscape into which decarbonising the fishing fleet fits. Using social science methods that facilitate dialogue, this PhD will expand on current research with the fishing industry to understand the potential socio-cultural implications, the behavioural responses of fishers and the feasibility of widespread implementation of decarbonisation in this context.
The successful student will benefit from interaction with stakeholders from industry and government. In addition, you will join a collaborative, multidisciplinary and nurturing environment, and will be provided with excellent opportunities for external networking. We will hold regular meetings with the entire cluster, with opportunities to present and discuss research, invite internal and external speakers and collaborators and foster networking.
