Robson & Robertson Awards - Alumni Spotlight
Nine years ago, the Jock Clough Marine Foundation began proudly supporting the UWA Oceans Institute's Robson & Robertson Awards, backing early-career marine researchers across Western Australia.
This series looks back at where that support has taken them.
Dr Naima Andrea López
Research Fellow, Marine Futures Lab, University of Western Australia (UWA)
Reading the reef's hidden gatherings
As a PhD candidate at UWA, Dr López focused on the ecology of hammerhead shark aggregations, gatherings critical to the survival of endangered species like the scalloped hammerhead, but at the time poorly understood. Her work established where and when these aggregations occur, giving managers the evidence base needed to protect them.
From fieldwork to policy
The Robson & Robertson Award funded drone-based fieldwork at Shoalwater Islands Marine Park, where Dr López collected the data underpinning her research. That fieldwork led to two peer-reviewed publications and contributed to the delineation of a new Important Shark and Ray Area (ISRA) at Point Peron, recognised by the IUCN.
"This early support was instrumental in translating research into both policy impact and ongoing community-driven conservation."
Building a citizen science movement
Dr López is now a Research Fellow at UWA's Marine Futures Lab, working across research, policy, and participatory science. She leads Hammerhead Hub, a citizen science program launched five months ago that has already generated more than 100 validated hammerhead shark observations from the WA community, feeding directly into local conservation policy.
Beyond the WA coastline
Dr López is expanding into Australia's Indian Ocean territories, coordinating community-based BRUVS monitoring in the Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Christmas Island — contributing to national conservation priorities and global efforts to protect pelagic wildlife.
