As a child, Liz was fascinated by the oceans and as she grew older was able to take her passion for the big blue and vast marine ecosystem further by snorkelling and diving in some amazing countries. After encountering a wild sociable solitary dolphin known as Fungie over 30 years ago in Ireland, Liz’s interest in protecting dolphins and whales developed, she aimed to make marine conservation a large part of her life and do more to protect cetaceans.
In the late 1980s Liz joined an action group that successfully helped close the last three dolphinariums in the UK, she went on to become co-founder of charitable organisation Marine Connection and continues to speak out against the keeping of cetaceans in captivity globally. Liz also leads the organisation’s work on social, solitary cetaceans and since 2004 been part of the UK Underwater Sound Forum which investigates the effects of underwater noise on marine life. When not in the office, she enjoys working in the field and for many years, has participated in Orca Watch, an annual Citizen Science event collecting data on the whales, dolphins, and porpoises in the waters around Caithness and North Sutherland, Orkney and Shetland. Watching these magnificent marine mammals in the wild is always high on Liz’s priority list whilst travelling, and she has been fortunate to include the mighty orca, majestic humpback whale, and many different dolphin species in her sightings. |