Our Team
Sea Trust Wales is run by a dedicated team of staff and volunteers.
Staff
Nadia Tomsa
Charity Director
Nadia joined Sea Trust in 2022 as Education & Outreach Officer. In January 2024, Nadia then took on the role of managing the charity. Nadia oversees Sea Trust’s conservation, research, and education projects. She also supports and coordinates all staff, interns, and volunteers. Nadia has a BSc (Hons) in Marine Biology with Study Abroad. Nadia is passionate about engaging the community and wider public with Wales’ incredible marine life and environment. In her spare time, Nadia can usually be found walking the coast path or swimming in the sea, always looking for wildlife!
Lloyd Nelmes
Aquarium Manager & Project Officer (Recycle Môr)
Lloyd is Sea Trust’s Aquarium Manager. Lloyd also works on various projects with local fishers to reduce the amount of plastic that enters our seas. Lloyd has a BSc in Marine Biology and is currently working on improving his dive qualifications.
Being around the sea so much has unfortunately allowed him to notice the increase in marine plastic pollution so has made it his mission to clean up the Pembrokeshire coast with Surfers Against Sewage organising beach cleans all year round. If he isn’t on the shore looking for our local wildlife he is in the sea surfing or diving with it!
Anna Webberley
Marine Conservation Assistant
Anna joined Sea Trust in February 2024, and works with schools and the Marine Biology Club to help with public education and outreach. She also helps with the citizen science marine wildlife surveys. Anna has a BSc (Hons) in Biological Sciences with a Professional Training Year from Cardiff University.
Anna loves walking the Pembrokeshire coast path, bird watching and exploring local beaches and rock pools.
Sam Cox
Charity Administrator
Sam joined Sea Trust in February 2024.
She works part-time providing admin support for the Sea Trust team.
Sam enjoys yoga and Somatic movement and regularly walks the Marine Walk and ‘dips’ in the sea.
Friederike Schmidt
Finance Administrator
Friederike joined Sea Trust in August 2023.
She works part-time as our Finance Administrator and has transformed Sea Trust’s finances!
Friederike swims, walks and grows food in her spare time and loves being part of the local community in Fishguard & Goodwick.
Trustees
Cliff Benson
Founder and Trustee
Cliff is a naturalist and conservationist, involved in aquatic conservation since he was a founder member of WAYD (the Wildlife Association of the Yorkshire Derwent). The group was concerned with protecting the River Derwent in his native Yorkshire from canalisation in the 1970’s. It was during this period he started his long association with local Wildlife Trusts.
He moved to West Wales in 1978 as a partner in Cambrian Bird Holidays helping to establish one of the UK’s first Eco Tourism enterprises. circumstances took him away from Wales but spent several Springs in protecting Red Kite Nests in Mid Wales volunteering with the Tregaron Community Kite Group. It was at this time he first met Iolo Williams, (now a good friend and honorary President of Sea Trust). He returned with his partner Frederike, shortly afterwards he was involved in organising a team of volunteers rescuing oiled sea birds during The Sea Empress Oil Disaster.
Consequently, Cliff began to realise our local Pembrokeshire Marine wildlife was under-recorded and set up Sea Trust as the marine section of the Wildlife Trust. In 2013 Sea Trust took over the management of the Ocean Lab on Fishguard Harbour which necessitated leaving the Wildlife Trust and setting up Sea Trust as a not for profit Community Interest Company, operating as financially independent autonomous community project.
When asked what he most enjoys about his work he answers:
I guess it’s finding out about and raising awareness of the incredible but poorly understood wildlife here in Pembrokeshire, literally on our doorstep. From great whales to our enigmatic little porpoises, I just love it when someone sees a Whale, dolphin or a porpoise for the first time with us”
We have a talented and knowledgeable team of five Trustees.
Interns
Many thanks to all our previous interns. Sea Trust would not be possible without all your hard work. There are too many names to mention everyone but special thanks to our interns over the past few years who have helped to get the aquarium up and running again and assisted with all our other projects…
We also take final year students who need to collect data for their final year dissertation. In 2017 we hosted Sophia Ellis from Swansea University. We’re happy to say she received a 1st for her project “Spatial and temporal variations in the distribution and abundance of harbour porpoise, Phocoena phocoena, along a fixed transect between Fishguard and Rosslare Harbour“.
Volunteers
Sea Trust’s volunteers make all our work possible, and we are extremely proud of their dedication to the Sea Trust’s work and vision.
Ken Barnett
Stephen Lucas
Joel Kemp
Rob Havard
Ben Hughes
Steve Rosser
Dawn Nelmes
Hannah Wiggins-Jeffries
Ruby Sherali
Rose Ciappara Williams
Fran Eggby
Carrie Garner
Astrid Cuddigan
Mair Elliott
Eva John
Cathy Palmer
Gwen Evans
Marilyn Jenkins
Cerian Goodbourn
Andy Wise
Chris Smith
Rob Williams
Zoe Nosworthy
Jemma Davies
Anna Kanji
Jon James
Amy Nicholass
Stephen Hyam
Lara Van Soest
Macsen Fudge
Callum Shaw
Lloyd Odey
Ed Little
Leah Austin
Ffion
David Bright
David Willicombe
Helean Peake
Andy Drumm
Andrew Elliott
Tony Connor
Thank you!
Thank you to all of our past and current volunteers and interns not mentioned here – we really do have too many names to mention. Thank you as well to our volunteer Directors: (Angela Griffiths, Hannah Harries, Anthony Lucas, Miguel Sanchez, Stephen Davis and Cliff Benson) and Dr Tony Gallon and his Sea Trust North Wales team who survey on the Holyhead to Dublin ferry route.