The Economics and Management of World Fisheries

Over the past several decades there has been increasing interest in, and concern about, the economics of the world’s capture fishery resources. Massive amounts of resource rent are being lost because of inadequate management and major rebuilding of fishery resources is called for.

This book draws together the latest economic theory of the management of these resources, at both the national and the international levels, and highlights areas where further research is urgently required. The emphasis is on world capture fisheries, rather than fisheries of specific regions, and examples are drawn upon from both developed and developing countries. It combines economic theory and empirical testing with an examination and analysis of resource policy options, with particular emphasis on fisheries management polices at the international level, where some of the most difficult resource management problems are found. The authors maintain that capture fishery resources are properly viewed as a part of society’s portfolio of natural capital assets. Consequently, a central theme of the book is that managing such resources should be viewed as asset management through time.

Written by two leading authorities, this accessible textbook has been specially developed to meet the needs of students taking courses on fisheries management as well as professionals working in this area for governments and international organisations.

Trond Bjørndal is a world leading expert on fisheries economics and management. He is a visiting professor at Imperial College and Distinguished Research Fellow at the Centre for Fisheries Economics SNF, Norway. He is former chairman of the board of the World Fish Centre and past president and chairman of the executive committee of the International Institute of Fisheries Economics and Trade. He has been professor/visiting professor at the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration, the University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, Humboldt Universitat zu Berlin, and University College London. He has been guest or associate editor of several journals, has been a consultant to the FAO, the OECD, the Export Council of Norway, and various government ministries. He has written textbooks on fisheries and aquaculture economics and has published extensively in scientific journals including Journal of Environmental Economics and Management and Canadian Journal of Economics.

Gordon Munro is a world leading expert on fisheries economics theory and policy issues. He has been a visiting professor at Univerisiti Sains Malaysia and a Distinguished Research Fellow at the Centre for Fisheries Economics SNF. He served on panels established by the National Academy of Sciences and the Royal Society of Canada. He has undertaken work for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Canada; Department for International Development, UK; Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation; the FAO of the UN; and the OECD. From 1983 to 1996 he led the Fisheries Task Force of the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council. In 2006-2007, he served on a panel, based at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, to develop a model for improved governance of Regional Fisheries Management Organisations. He is an editor of Strategic Behaviour and the Environment. In recognition of his contributions to the field, a conference was held in his honour in 2004, leading to the festschrift Advances in Fisheries Economics.