DrCarla Sbrocchi

Dr Carla Sbrocchi is an applied marine social scientist whose research centres human wellbeing and social values in fisheries and marine restoration practice. She investigates how governing institutions can better account for community values and navigate competing interests, recognising that effective management emerges from this deeper understanding. 

With interdisciplinary expertise spanning marine ecology, resource management, and qualitative social sciences, she collaborates with small-scale fisheries operators, coastal communities, and government resource managers to identify pathways where environmental conservation and community wellbeing reinforce one another.

Carla's current research examines satisfaction and food safety networks in recreational fishing in Australia, the governance of coral restoration initiatives in the Philippines, and the socioeconomic dimensions of urban marine restoration in Sydney Harbour. She also has research interests in AI applications in marine and social sciences, and local community adaptation responses to changing economic and climate conditions.

Prior to joining UTS, she worked as a consultant advising on coastal management, disaster resilience programs, institutional resilience, and cultural land activation strategies. She co-convenes the Australian Marine Social Sciences Network and is an affiliate of the Centre for Marine Socioecology in Tasmania.