Born in Bilbao, in the Basque Country, Itsaso’s name—meaning “sea” in Basque— reflects her natural connection to marine environments.
Inspired by her love of the ocean, which grew through surfing, she decided to study Oceanography at the University of Barcelona, Spain.
During her final year, she studied in Sweden, researching benthic foraminifera in a fjord that had recovered from severe pollution. This experience strengthened her commitment to protecting the environment. Now, at the Sea Around Us initiative, she is working on reconstructing fisheries data in Senegal as part of her Master’s thesis in Marine Biology and Ecology from the University of Bordeaux.
In her free time, Itsaso enjoys writing, painting, reading, and spending time by or in the water.