Beginning my academic journey in conservation biology, I realised the issues I saw as most urgent would best be tackled through community-wide approaches. I afterwards jumped to social sciences and have become an interdisciplinary fisheries researcher focused on participatory processes. In 2021 I arrived at the Azores as a social scientist at the Azores Fisheries Research Group, and have since become an advocate for stakeholder collaboration and addressing distrust in fisheries. Recently, I have started my PhD in Marine Sciences at the University of the Azores, researching how fishers’ knowledge could systematically support research and management decision-making by strengthening fisheries’ stakeholder relationships.