Verónica Iriarte

Background & Qualifications

I am from Punta del Este (Uruguay) and I have been fascinated by the ocean from a very young age. I obtained a degree in Biological Sciences at the Faculty of Sciences in Montevideo (UDELAR) and then I gained a Masters in Marine Sciences and Limnology from the Mexican Autonomous National University (UNAM). My research background is mostly related to marine mammal interactions with fisheries, having earned a Global Fellowship in Marine Conservation from Duke University Marine Lab. After working four years in the Brazilian rainforest on a project that studied gillnet bycatch and illegal hunting of river dolphins (boto & tucuxi) for bait, I came to the Falklands to work as a Scientific Fisheries Observer. After two years, I moved the position to work as a Fishery Protection Officer, being directly involved with enforcement. Since March 2019 I have been working as the Bycatch Mitigation Officer (Seabirds & Marine Mammals). I have fallen in love with the almost pristine nature of the islands and I truly enjoy being at sea.

Research interests

Sustainable fisheries, megafauna bycatch mitigation, technological innovation, participative management, ecosystem-based management.

Publications

Iriarte, V., Blake, D., Arkhipkin, A. (2020). Implementation of exclusion devices to mitigate seal (Arctocephalus australis, Otaria flavescens) incidental mortalities during bottom-trawling in the Falkland Islands (Southwest Atlantic). Fish Res (227) 105537.

Iriarte, V., & Marmontel, M. (2013). Insights on the use of dolphins (boto Inia geoffrensis and tucuxi, Sotalia fluviatilis) for bait in the piracatinga (Calophysus macropterus) fishery in the Western Brazilian Amazon. Journal of Cetacean Research and Management. 13(2): 163-173.

Iriarte, V., & Marmontel, M. (2013). River dolphin (Inia geoffrensis, Sotalia fluviatilis) mortality events attributed to artisanal fisheries in the Western Brazilian Amazon. Aquatic Mammals, 39(2): 116-124.

Iriarte, V., & Marmontel, M. (2011). Report of an encounter with a human intentionally entangled Amazon River dolphin calf (Inia geoffrensis) and posterior release in Tefé River, Amazonas State, Brazil. Uakari, (7):29-33.

Iriarte, V. (2009). Analysis of killer whale (Orcinus orca) vocalizations from the south portion of Gulf of California. MSc. Dissertation. Marine Sciences and Limnology Graduate School, National Mexican Autonomous University (UNAM) [in Spanish].

Iriarte, V. (2006). Killer whale (Orcinus orca) occurrence at Isla de Lobos, Uruguay. The Latin American Journal of Aquatic Mammals. 5(1):73-76.