Passionate about sharks since she was 8 years old, Catarina dedicated herself to the study of elasmobranchs from an early age. She has a degree in Marine Biology from the University of Algarve and a master’s degree in Marine Biology and Conservation from ISPA and her love of sharks earned her the Women in Shark Science scholarship from the South African Shark Conservancy in 2019, allowing her to do her internship in Hermanus, South Africa.

She completed her master’s thesis as part of the FindRayShark project on the subject of the overlap between human activities and the occurrence of sharks and rays in the Berlengas Nature Reserve, and also developed the “Good Practice Guide for the Conservation of Rays and Sharks”.

In her spare time, she collaborates with the SEI Portugal Association and Ocean Hub Portugal, as well as running an instagram page dedicated to ocean literacy – NETubarão. She is currently a member of the Sciaena team, working in various areas such as pollution, climate and fisheries. Among the topics she monitors is work on international fisheries, namely monitoring the definition of shark policies in Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs).

Since 2021, Catarina Abril is also one of the cofounders and a Board Member of SEI Portugal.