Marine biologist and science communicator Melissa Márquez has always had a fascination with the ocean.  

But growing up, she saw no women — especially Latina women — represented in the field of ocean research.

Ms Márquez decided that in addition to doing the science herself, she would be an inspiration to other young women looking to follow in her footsteps.

"I have the chance to be a role model to so many people," the Puerto Rican-born, Mexican-raised scientist said.

Ms Márquez, a PhD candidate at Curtin University, is founder of the Fins United Initiative, "a shark, skate, ray and chimaera education and conservation program". 

She has a big presence on social media — having amassed 26,000 followers on Twitter — and uses it to promote her belief that "you can't be what you can't see".

She is also a children's author, podcaster and TV presenter, spreading the word wherever she can.

Role model 

"I want to use my platform as a science communicator to be the role model that I wish I'd had ... not just for Latinas around the world but also other people of colour, who see me and be like, 'hey, if this girl from a small island can do it, I can do it as well'," she said.

Ms Márquez has travelled the world researching the oceans. She obtained her undergraduate degree in Florida, her master's degree in Wellington, completed independent study in South Africa and has given talks in more than 20 countries.

She has now wound up in Perth undertaking what she considers to be her "dream project".

"It just made sense to come on over to Western Australia," she said.

"Australia is home to so many sharks that you can't find anywhere else."

The shark researcher, whose nickname is "Mother of Sharks", has drawn parallels between her experiences as a woman in the science industry and sharks in the ocean.

Her 2017 TEDx talk "Sharks and Female Scientists: More Alike Than You Think" explores this topic and has had more than 30,000 views.

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"We really do need diversity and inclusion in science in order to make innovative science progress," Ms Márquez said.

And in the same way diversity is so important to science, sharks are also vital to the environment.

"The marine biology community have an expression saying: 'a healthy ocean needs a healthy shark population'," she said.

But the CSIRO estimates that in the south-western region of Australia, the population of adult great white sharks is only 1,460.

Sharks are important

"Sharks are so important for our environment and our marine ecosystem, you take that out, not only are you starting to dismantle a really delicate balance in the marine ecosystem, but also it's going to cause other problems," Ms Márquez said.

Beyond their environmental significance, Ms Márquez said sharks also have a huge cultural and economic importance.

"They bring in millions of dollars yearly to eco-tourism worldwide," she said.

Ms Márquez is fascinated by the push and pull between our fear of sharks and our intense curiosity about them.

"For me, this is an area of fascination. I am really interested in studying our relationships with sharks, how that's changed over the years and what it means for their conservation in future," she said.

Ms Márquez's PhD project is investigating shark habitat use, encompassing field work in northern Western Australia, trying out new technology and analysing data.

"It's figuring out why sharks are where they are," she said.

Ms Márquez believes sharks have been misrepresented.

"They get this really bad reputation that they don't deserve," she said.

"There's actually over 500 different species of sharks.

"We're actually discovering new species all the time and so to paintbrush all of them saying they're monsters ... 'man-eaters' just doesn't do them justice whatsoever."