David Costalago
Marine Scientist
Oceana Staff
Growing up in Spain in the 80s-90s, David always knew he wanted to follow in the footsteps of the Spanish environmentalist Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente and of Jacques Cousteau. Today, as a curious and committed citizen and scientist, David enjoys exploring the links between ecosystems and human livelihoods, and strives to channel his skills and knowledge towards the conservation and sustainable management of marine resources.
He holds Master´s degrees in Natural Resource Management and in Marine Science and a doctorate in Marine Science. After defending his doctorate on small pelagic fish ecology in the Mediterranean, David went on to study how climate change and other anthropogenic factors affect the pelagic ecosystems in South Africa, the Indian Ocean, the Baltic Sea and the Northeast Pacific Ocean. During his Academic years, he was a keen user of state-of-the-art techniques, from stable isotopes to ecological modelling, to assess the condition and vulnerability of marine organisms.
Since the beginning of 2020, David has been working for ocean-focused environmental NGOs on topics ranging from illegal fishing to sustainable seafood certifications. He is now very excited to join Oceana´s Science & Strategy team and will work on fisheries and climate change issues from the Madrid office. When not at work, you can find him running in the Retiro or Casa de Campo parks, or, more likely, focused in his quest to find the best Neapolitan pizza in town.
