The Future in Farming our Seas, With Roberta Marcoli
“I get nervous because English isn’t my first language and sometimes I forget the word I want to say. I’ll probably have jelly legs and a shaky voice, but I am really excited.”
Stories like Roberta Marcoli’s bring a smile to our face, and we are cheering that she has found her pathway in Aussie Agriculture.
It would be easy to think that her passion for aquaculture was fostered as a child growing up in a small fishing village in Italy, however, it was actually a trip to the aquarium that sparked a love for the ocean.
Roberta laughs as she shares the story about seeing dolphins at the aquarium and in her mind they were crying and speaking to her. So when she got home, she started writing letters to the aquarium to free the dolphins.
The dolphins didn’t get freed, but it did assist in shaping Roberta’s future and since then she always said that she was going to be a marine biologist and ‘save the oceans’. Her parents backed her in completely, telling her to follow her dreams.
The dream kept her out of trouble, she would skip holidays to Ibiza with friends to do internships and volunteer in aquaculture operations throughout the Mediterranean and French Polynesia.
Images supplied by Roberta Marcoli.
She eventually landed in New Zealand with her Husband and applied for a PhD in Aquaculture and Genetics. Roberta since graduated and now calls Australia home where she works in Townsville as an aquaculture researcher.
“When I give a talk [on aquaculture] I think about the people who rely on fisheries, it’s not something I have just read in a book. I think of real people and real communities.”
“Life is not an easy path. Moving to the opposite side of the world, you leave behind friends and family… My Dad passed away. It’s really up and down and grit is really what makes people go further when they’re at those sorts of obstacles.”
Copyright: Indy Saleh
Q and A:
HOA: What made you apply to be an evokeAG. Future Young Leader?
Roberta: I am doing a Women in Leadership program for the aquaculture industry and one of the other ladies in the program sent around the advertisement for the evokeAG. Future Young Leaders Program.
I am very lucky, my boss is incredible and he is always pushing me to do personal and professional development.
And it [Future Young Leaders] seemed very much like me, I am very interested in scientific communication.
And I felt like Future Young Leaders was not only a program that could help me develop my skills to be a better leader and better communicator, but evokeAG. will also be a space where people can hear my voice.
HOA: What is your project about?
Roberta: I feel like a bit of a fish out of water, because I am only doing something in aquaculture. It humbles me to meet people who think and feel the same way about things that are completely different.
The ocean is incredibly big and has so many resources. So if we can find a way to utilise the ocean in a positive and sustainable way, that is not depleting the ocean, we can have aquaculture production that can help with feeding the planet.
There’s no silver bullet... But if we can reduce commercial fishing and give a break to the families and communities that need fish to eat for dinner... And if we eat farmed fish in first world countries… Then maybe we can make a difference.
But with that there needs to be a change in perspective of customers, because many customers are still seeking the wild caught animal because of tradition. It’s much better to think that piece of fish was once swimming freely in the ocean.
We don’t pretend that a cow isn’t farmed, do we? Customers need to understand and accept that farming is the way. And farmers want to make it good for the animals because that will allow them to produce more.
I want to find practical solutions for farmers to apply to increase production and sustainability in agriculture.
HOA: What are you hoping to achieve from the evokeAG. Future Young Leaders Program?
Roberta: I am a scientist, that’s my trade. I research and I love questions and I love using technology to answer questions. But as scientists, we often don't know how to communicate in simple words.
In our scientific world everyone understands us and our language. But when it comes to speaking to the community about what we do and why they should care and why they should apply technologies and the change it will have for little communities…Not many people have that ability to communicate.
There’s so many fantastic scientific outputs that people don’t hear about. So I really think about the connection between preservation and conservation of the oceans and anthropology, because people rely on fish.
People, sustainability, aquaculture and communication are the four things we need to make a change and Future Young Leaders program is a great stage to have my voice heard.
Copyright: Indy Saleh
Roberta was selected for the evokeAG. Future Young Leaders Program, “designed to build the capacity of emerging leaders from across Australia, New Zealand and the Asia Pacific while providing a platform to share their key messages, innovations, research, stories, and passions for Australian rural industries and the value chain, to deliver, develop, adopt and export agrifood innovation to the world.”
Future Young Leaders get to showcase their ideas on stage at the conference. But not before they develop and refine their idea through an intense mentoring program and workshopping in the lead up to the event.
We’re excited to be heading to evokeAG. in Perth on February 20-21, 2024. We’ll be spending more time with the Future Young Leaders so keep your eyes, and ears peeled for more.
Sponsor shoutout:
Our #FutureYoungLeader stories are proudly sponsored by 2024 AgriFutures evokeAG.