Luca Foyster

I am a cheerful and energetic individual. I have developed strong communication, people, and engagement skills acquired by supporting and coaching within the Dive Program at Southampton Dive Academy and my role at Waitrose. My passion is for marine ecology and specifically, for the conservation of sharks and rays, i have been able to gain hands-on experience with volunteering experiences such as in the Maldives and industrial experience. I am currently in my 3rs year of a Marine biology degree.

Bournemouth Oceanarium (March-April 2022)

I spent 5 weeks at the Bournemouth oceanarium here I learnt skills such as food preparation, live food preparation and Shark ID   was one of my highlights. By the end of my placement i was able to safely and confidently handle identify and feed animals such as Otters, Rays, Black tip and zebra sharks, I also improved my skills in public speaking and education,  giving talks to the general public.

Operation Wallaeca science internship (August 2020)

I took part in a week long online science workshop, focusing on how to write a scientific report for a research study, each day focused on a different skill such as using R studios, literature reviews, statistical tests , and finally writing a full report: I decided to concentrate on the behaviour of coral reef fish around the island of Honduras over the week, my report investigated the role depth plays in the abundance of herbivorous species on coral reefs.

Coral restoration project (July- August 2019)

During the summer i travelled to the Maldives and worked with the islands resident marine biologist; whilst there I supported him on the coral restoration project that was taking place there, and i took part in the propagation of corals and planting frames on the island's local coral reef.

Maidenhead aquatics (January- February 2022)

As part of the industrial experience section of my course, I spent three weeks at Maidenhead Aquatics in Andover. I undertook a variety of tasks such as daily cleaning, feeding a variety of both tropical freshwater and marine fish and invertebrates, also assisting in conducting water tests as well as learning how best to give advice to customers.