Katrina Bornt

Plastic contamination in commercially important decapod crustaceans

The rise in plastic production and difficulties of managing waste both on land and at sea contributes to the unprecedented amount of plastic debris found in our oceans today. Contributions from fisheries and impacts on commercially significant marine biota remains undocumented in Western Australia (WA).

My research aims to investigate the plastics used and lost by the iconic western rock lobster commercial fishery and identify an appropriate method for analysing plastics/chemicals ingested by Panulirus cygnus and apply to other commercially important decapods in WA.

About me

I’ve spent most of my life in WA, growing up on a farm north of Perth after moving there as a child from the US. I studied marine science at UWA and spent my Honours year in 2013 looking into the response targeted fish species have to long-term protection from fishing at the Abrolhos. I have since been working as a secondary school teacher and started a PhD in 2021 that combines my interests of fisheries science and plastic pollution.

Supervisors

Dr. Tim Langlois, Dr. Renae Hovey, Dr Simon de Lestang, Dr Jason Howe, Dr Kathryn Linge

Contact

Indian Ocean Marine Research Centre
School of Biological Sciences (M470)
35 Stirling Highway, Crawley WA 6009

katrina.bornt@research.uwa.edu.au