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Of Fish and Fishermen [F-13-41]

Are there plenty of fish in the sea? The ocean is very large, and appears to provide an endless supply of fish. Despite this observation, fisheries around the world are feeling the strain of increasing harvest pressure, evident in the collapse of the Northern Cod fishery in Canada. Why would rational people fish themselves into unemployment? This outcome is a natural extension of a basic economic principle: people respond to incentives. This raises the question, “Is it inevitable for fisheries to collapse?” The short answer is, “No.” In this presentation, we will explore this question, among others, and provide a brief introduction to bioeconomics, commercial fisheries, and the common-pool resource.

Keith Evans is an assistant professor of economics at St. Lawrence University. His areas of specialty include environmental and natural resource economics, and applied econometrics. His current research focuses on the behavior of commercial fishermen and the effect of various management tools on the sustainability of the fishery resource. Before joining the faculty at SLU, Keith held a pre-doctoral position at the Center for Environmental Economics and Sustainability Policy at Arizona State University.

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