Dr Fiona Gell will be known to many as one of the leading voices fighting to protect our island’s marine surroundings.

She is a marine biologist with a PhD in seagrass ecology and more than 20 years’ experience working in marine science, conservation and policy on small islands around the world.

More recently, she has been working here on the Isle of Man - where she grew up - on our response to the climate emergency.

She is also a published poet. And now, she has turned her hand to long-form writing.

In fact, she has just published her debut memoir, which tells the story of her lifelong love of the sea, in a way which would appeal to any reader.

Inspiration struck about six years ago. As Fiona says: ‘I thought it would be quite nice to write a book about marine life that would be accessible. There are a lot of good marine life books out there, but they are more technical.

‘I wanted it to be for anyone really who wanted to know more about the sea but didn’t want it to be a really heavy going science book, so that’s where it kind of evolved from.

‘My editor then encouraged me to develop it into more of a personal story, so that’s how it went from what could have been much more of a textbook into the memoir format.’

For anyone wanting to write a book, suddenly making it more about your life story than just the facts and figures you’re used to would be a daunting prospect.

Fiona agreed, saying: ‘It’s not something I would have voluntarily started along, but it really made sense once we talked about it.

‘It makes it really accessible and an engaging story that is hopefully of interest to people that may not have been interested in marine life. I felt very exposed but I read a lot of memoirs and the more I read the more I could see how it could work.’

The book tracks Fiona’s life work here on the island, including her campaign to protect Ramsey Bay as the Isle of Man’s first marine nature reserve recognised by Tynwald.

Her achievements in the field cannot be overstated. For example, she was a ‘parachute scientist’ for 12 years, latterly for the World Wide Fund for Nature, conducting a global review of how marine-protected areas can boost local fisheries.

So, why should you take a dip into this memoir?

As Fiona puts it, ‘It’s all about how amazing the marine life we have around the Isle of Man is. So few people actually get to dive or be out on a fishing boat, or actually see it first hand.

‘More widely around the British Isles we don’t appreciate what amazing marine life we have. People tend to know more about coral reefs and more exotic marine wildlife than they do our own, and I think hopefully through an accessible story people will appreciate more what we have around the Isle of Man and how important it is that we protect it.’

Spring Tides: Exploring Marine Life on the Isle of Man is out now.