Marine Consultant Connor Markham

Why and how did you get into marine science?

Looking back, growing up in the land-locked city of Stoke-on-Trent miles from any sort of coastline, it seems unusual that I developed an interest for marine science. But I believe that the fact that the marine environment was a completely different world to me which I didn’t understand fuelled my intrigue. I also remember growing up at a time when anthropogenic impacts on our environment started to enter public consciousness. 

Documentaries like Blue Planet, Planet Earth and An Inconvenient Truth had a huge impact on me. From there, I went on to study Marine Biology at Swansea University between 2014 and 2018 where I began to develop my understanding of the marine environment. Following university, I was fortunate enough to secure a short-term internship in Oman, where I had my first real taste of working within environmental consultancy.

What do you love about your job?

My favourite aspect of the job is knowing that I work for a consultancy that puts the environment first in everything they do. As an employee at APEM, you’re also made to understand how you as an individual and the work you do contributes to overall goals and success of the business. Additionally, I’m also given the opportunity to develop a wide variety of skills to help bolster my career as an Environmental Consultant.

What do you do on a typical day at APEM?

My main role at APEM as a marine consultant is to support the provision of marine ecology services to our clients working in coastal, estuarine and offshore environments. The services that I’m directly involved with on a day to day basis include the production of intertidal and subtidal survey reports. These present a range of biological data collected and processed by our field and biolabs teams, respectively. I also provide the associated analysis and interpretation. 

The biological data presented in these reports includes the outputs of Particle Size Analysis (PSA), univariate and multivariate analysis of macrobiota (using PRIMER), records of species of conservation importance and Invasive Non-Native Species (INNS), and any biotopes present including mapping outputs.

I’m also directly involved with the production of Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) which identify the significant environmental consequences of a proposed activity, plan, policy or project. Different EIA chapters combine to form an Environmental Statement (ES) that is submitted to the decision maker alongside the details of the proposed development. 

Specifically, my role as a Marine Consultant is to focus on those impacts relating to marine and coastal ecology. A typical ES chapter will include the current baseline conditions, all potential impacts of the development and any mitigation or compensation measures that may be required for a range of receptors.

Part of my role also includes the completion of literature reviews to provide a baseline assessment or to inform future feasibility studies or EIAs for proposed developments. Creating literature reviews involves conducting research using a range of data sources and scientific literature for various ecological receptors.

Occasionally, I’m also able to get out of the office to various parts of the UK to help support APEM’s field team in conducting intertidal, subtidal and fisheries surveys.

Additionally, as one of APEM’s several dedicated Mental Health First Aiders, I also play an important role in supporting the mental wellbeing of my fellow team mates through our mental health framework. We do this through regular communication with new and current employees, the provision of mental health resources and support pathways, but most importantly, always being available to listen and empathise when our team mates need us.

Is there a recent project that you can describe?

One past project I worked on was the production of several environmental desktop studies to provide information on the marine habitats and species of conservation importance present within several proposed cable corridors in the Mediterranean off the coast of Spain. 

The purpose was to highlight any potential ecological constraints that the project might pose. The overall aim of the project was to collate and consolidate relevant marine environmental data as part of initial cable routing design. This was also to inform future feasibility studies for the interconnector cable project to improve the security and continuity of service in the electricity system of the Balearic Islands.

Find out more about our marine services, including supporting with marine EIAs, here.