Gurpreet Padda is a marine and fisheries scientist with seafaring experience. She is also a local politician in Norfolk, England.

Experiences during her career have shaped her commitment to diversity, and her desire to promote literacy and access to ocean sciences among visibly BAME, underrepresented, and underserved groups. This led to the creation of Black Ocean Citizens.

With equality, diversity, inclusivity, justice, and access at its core, BLOC provides a platform for underrepresented, underserved, and marginalised groups to be involved in ocean science, and to share knowledge and activities.

When I was at school, a career aptitude test revealed that, with the exception of a couple of kids, my classmates’ best life chances were to be achieved by aiming for clerical administrative careers. Being educated at a London inner city school – as the daughter of first generation immigrant parents studying alongside many children from different Asian backgrounds – a job involving a desktop computer was the height of ambition.

But my working life went on to span market trading, cleaning, and selling double glazing under the pseudonym ‘Gail’. I also briefly worked as an accounts assistant for BBC news anchors and almost auditioned as a weather reporter. My route to marine and fisheries social sciences was far from linear.

One day, a poster of a scuba diver stopped me in my tracks on the way to the science block and after that my career path as a marine and fisheries scientist started to take shape. After an initial pull towards studying the impacts of oil and gas extraction on marine animals at the University of New South Wales, Australia, I became fascinated by human–ocean interdependence. As well as following this as an area of research, I had fun with it too – enjoying fishing, scuba diving, paddleboarding, and kayaking.

I started to realise that those who engaged with research in the government and environmental NGOs were mainly educated at selective schools and were affluent, with a very different background to my own. Perhaps for this reason, I encountered challenges to finding opportunities in the sector – in recruitment processes, academia, and as a practitioner. When opportunities arose, I sometimes experienced discriminatory behaviour.

Because of my love of oceans, I have been committed to working in this field for many years. As well as gaining my PhD at the University of East Anglia, I have worked at a world leading marine and fisheries laboratory, a consultancy, and at government agencies as a marine and fisheries policy and evidence expert.

My hope is that BLOC provides space for people of all backgrounds to work together for the sake of our oceans.

Gurpreet’s previous research has included areas such as South Indian women in the fisheries industry and the impact of oil based drilling muds on sea urchin.

Gurpreet’s PhD was on environmental justice in North West Norfolk cockle fisheries.

Email : info@blackoceancitizens.com