Sustainable fishing is essential in our society. It ensures that fishing activity does not significantly impact the ecosystem, i.e. the habitat of the animals caught and the animals that are not.
Aurore Receveur is a researcher in marine ecology and fisheries science. Her research allows finding solutions to guarantee sustainable fishing. Come and discover her story and her associative commitments in this interview!
Hello! My name is Aurore Receveur, and I am 30 years old. I am currently a researcher at the Foundation for Research on Biodiversity (FRB), and I am based at Cesab, a programme of the FRB, in Montpellier. I started this position a little over a year ago and will end in November 2024.
Specifically, I am a researcher in marine ecology and fisheries science. Fisheries science is the sciences that deal with fish that are exploited, in other words, that humans catch or breed in aquaculture. The general objective of my research is to better understand how the species live, i.e. where they live, where they are spatially distributed, in what environment (what temperature conditions for example) they live, how they interact with each other (for instance, do they feed in the same way), and how external pressures (for example pollution, changes in environmental conditions or fishing) affect them. I then try to use this ecological knowledge to propose management tools to manage exploited species in a more sustainable way, for example, to limit the impact of fishing.
My current project is focusing on fish in European waters (Baltic Sea, North Sea, Celtic Sea, Bay of Biscay, Iberian coast and Mediterranean Sea) that are demersal, that is, that live on or near the bottom of the sea (examples of species in the figure above). The aim of the project is to understand how climate change and fisheries influence species, for example, if these species change where they live because of climate change.
My job is part of a common effort to be able to eat fish in the future. But I am just one small brick in a big system. I am not the one who will save our planet, I'm just trying to contribute in my own way.
The objective is twofold: to understand how these species have changed over the last 60 years, and also to project how they will change in the future, up to 2100, to predict how they will continue to evolve.
I work both on species that are exploited for consumption, but also on species that are not exploited. The aim is to limit the impact of fishing and climate change on the whole community and ecosystem, so it is necessary to analyze all species of fish, those that we eat as well as the others.
My missions
- Data analysis on the computer. This task constitutes the majority of my schedule. To answer the questions I present above, I analyze large datasets. These data have been collected at sea during scientific campaigns since the 1960s. During these campaigns, scientists go to sea and put large nets in the water (called trawls, see trawl illustration above) towed from the back of the boat to catch the species and to be able to identify them. Thus, since the 1960s we have known where species are spatially distributed. I analyze these data with mathematical tools called statistical models, which allow me to understand in which physical environment each species prefers to live. These same statistical models allow us to predict (with associated uncertainty) where species will potentially be next year, in 10 years and up to 2100, and therefore how they will evolve (appear or disappear) and/or move in the context of climate change (see whiting illustration below).
- I don't do this research alone. I am a member of a working group that includes about thirty scientists working in 7 different countries (France, Belgium, Denmark, Portugal, Norway, Canada, USA). I am in charge of leading the group scientifically and maintaining a dynamic. This involves organizing in- person meetings twice a year, and more regularly by video, or by sharing data or computer code.
- Once or twice a year I also go to international conferences. This aspect stopped a bit during Covid, but I'm looking forward to my next conference. These work weeks are always very fulfilling. It's an opportunity to present your work to the whole community of scientists who work on the same themes as us. And it's also an opportunity to travel. To attend conferences, I have already been to San Francisco and Seattle in the United States, as well as to Taiwan.
- Once a year, for two or three weeks, I do fieldwork. It's important for me to know how the data that I analyze are collected throughout the year. As I work on the high seas, I can't go and collect data one day from time to time. When I go to sea, it's always on big boats and we stay between 2 and 4 weeks on the high seas. I love these missions, and even if the working conditions are not always easy, especially because of the weather and working hours, the atmosphere on board with the sailors and other scientists is always great.
- I also try to spend some of my working time on popularizing science. At the moment, for example, I'm participating soon in an afternoon where we're hosting a class of 10th graders where I work. The class is coming to spend the afternoon in the lab, and we are organizing 4 workshops on biodiversity and management. I have to create a game about marine biodiversity, and the impact fishing and climate change has on it.
- Finally, I also supervise students who do internships. At the moment, I am supervising a student who is doing his Master 2 internship for 6 months with me. It's important to spend time with him every week, to discuss his progress, help him and give him feedback. I like to pass on my passion for my job.
It's not easy to say what I like most about my job. I like to feel useful, that my research has implications for the management of the marine environment, even if the link is not always very direct. I'm curious by nature, and I like to ask myself new questions every day and put things in place to try to answer them.I also like the variety of my missions, and the contact with others.
About my background
I got my baccalaureate in 2009, it was a baccalaureate S (scientific section), speciality math, lycée F. Daguin in Mérignac, near Bordeaux.
I then entered a preparatory class Biology Chemistry Physics Life and Earth Sciences, lycée M. Montaigne in Bordeaux. There is a lot of work in the preparatory class, and it is not always easy to keep up with everything. The competition period at the end is very stressful and hard to manage. Despite this, I loved those two years because I made incredible friends. One of the people I met during those years became my best man at my wedding 3 years ago, and we both have a science popularization project (DECODER journal, see below).
I continued with 2 years in a first school of agronomy in Nancy (ENSAIA). I also loved those years, I partied a lot and also met friends who I am still very close to today. I also discovered during those years that the "agronomy" side, i.e. the management of food resources, particularly appealed to me. It's incredible the variety of jobs that are possible after an agronomy school. I didn't know about these schools at all, and it was a great discovery.
I did a first "gap year" internship in New Caledonia for 6 months. It was an internship on coral reef fish. Before this internship, I had always dreamed of working in the marine environment and in particular on coral reefs. Ultimately, it was during this internship that I realized that I didn't like it that much. I was missing something by working on pure conservation issues.
I came back to France to do my last year of school, I did my last year of engineering school in agronomy in Rennes (Institut Agro) where I specialized in fisheries science. I loved this training, it was as if I was finally discovering what I really wanted to do. Fisheries science combines everything I wanted to do in the end: I still work in the marine environment, but on very concrete and applied questions, I do applied research in the management of a food resource. And I discovered all this during this study year. I chose to specialize in research, but there were 3 other options in this Master's degree: a specialization in aquaculture to work at all levels of the industry, a specialization in seafood processing to work more on agri-food industry questions/problems, and a specialization in management to work in the ministry for example,
or in consultancy firms, to be a real management player.
After school I worked for a year as an engineer. I wasn't sure after my school whether I wanted to do a thesis. This year allowed me to work with many researchers, to do data analysis, and to test myself to see if I wanted to go further and to launch into a thesis. It also allowed me to meet the team with whom I eventually did a thesis, and to set up the project with them, this way I could also decide on my thesis subject. In retrospect, this year was very beneficial for me.
I did my three-year thesis in New Caledonia. While a year before I wasn't sure I wanted to do a thesis, I ended up loving this period. The thesis was really the first time in my career that I did research for myself, that I "got my hands dirty". It was my subject, and I could take the direction I wanted in my research, the people who were supervising me gave me a lot of freedom. At the same time, they were very gracious and helped me whenever I needed it. I gained a lot of self-confidence during these three years.
This video explains what I did during my thesis: Aurore, doctorante à la CPS.
I think that my career is a good example of the kind of mobility that you can have in research. You are led to travel a lot, for short periods but also to live abroad. I hope to continue to be able to do that in the years to come.
I then lived in Germany for two years, to do a first postdoctoral contract. I lived in Rostock in the north of Germany, and I arrived there in January 2019, just before Covid started. During this time I worked on herring and cod that are caught in the Baltic Sea. These two fish stocks are not doing well, there are fewer and fewer of them and I was trying to find out why. I was working for the German Fisheries Institute, which has the task of supporting fishermen. The aim of my work is often twofold: that the fish are healthy, but that the fishermen also have a job. And finally, that we too can continue to eat fish. This was the case for this study in the Baltic Sea. The aim was to understand whether it was fishing that was causing the stocks to collapse, or whether it was other factors. We showed that the poor health of the cod was mainly linked to environmental problems. There is a lack of oxygen at the bottom, so the cod can't get there and therefore can no longer feed because their main prey live at the bottom of the sea.
Finally, for the last year and a half, I have been living in Montpellier where I am still on a postdoctoral contract (this period between the thesis and the CDI/permanent contract).
Last year I received the Young Talent France l'Oréal-UNESCO Prize for Women in Science. As part of its programme to support women scientists in their careers, the l'Oréal Foundation, in partnership with the French Academy of Sciences and the French National Commission for UNESCO, awards 35 fellowships per year to doctoral and post-doctoral women working in French research institutes in all scientific fields.
When I was a child, I lived in Mayotte for three years, where I started scuba diving, which quickly became a passion. Since then, I wanted to work with dolphins and coral reefs. In the end, today I work with exploited marine fish, like cod and tuna. And even though at the time these species would not have made me dream, I am very happy to be studying them today.
What helped me to choose my path? Doing internships. During all my studies, I didn't know what I wanted to do, where I was going to end up. And it was really each of my internships that helped me refine what I wanted to do.
In parallel, I am an active member of the editorial team of a science popularization journal with 4 other researchers. All 5 of us manage this journal. The principle is to put a class and a researcher in touch with each other so that together they can popularize a scientific article. When they arrive at a final version where everyone agrees, the article is published on our website.
I am very proud and happy to be part of this journal. For me, spreading knowledge and making research open and accessible to everyone is an integral part of my job. Visit our website here : Journal Décoder.
Family life
I have a 1.5 year old boy and I am expecting a second child in June. It's not easy to juggle my job and my (soon to be) sons every day. My husband is also a researcher, so we both have busy schedules and travel quite often. We also talk a lot about work at home, as we are working on joint projects. This sometimes makes research too present in our lives, but it is also a strength. We can support each other more easily, because we always understand what the other is going through. And I also feel even more fulfilled and happy since my son was born. He gives me another reason to continue researching, so that he can still eat fish when he grows up. He also brings me a lot of happiness. Even if my day was long and difficult (it happens sometimes), coming home and hearing his laughter makes me completely disconnected from work.
Before I became a mother, I used to scuba dive a lot, it's really my passion. It's in a bit of a hiatus at the moment. I dedicate time to my son and my job takes up the rest of my time. But it's okay, I know it's just a period of time, and it will come back afterwards. On weekends, we like to go out and walk a lot.
Some advices
I think that there is a huge variety of possible careers in the sciences, and that we don't really appreciate the extent of it when we are in high school. You shouldn't hesitate to go to forums, open doors, and talk as much as possible with people who are already there. And if you have the opportunity, do internships. For me, there is nothing better than an internship to test the different fields.
There is still a lack of girls in research and in science in general, so come, we need you. You are all capable of doing it, so don't hesitate to get started. And we also have the right to make mistakes, to try something else and to start again. The objective is to find the job that will make you feel fulfilled. And above all, trust yourself! It's good to listen to advice, but no one else should decide what you do.
Edited by Sylvana S. & Mazzarine D.
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