The Nereus Program
Nereus is a cooperation between The Nippon Foundation and The University of British Columbia, that develops scientific capability for predictions of how the future seafood production may be. The program builds on international networking of scientists to communicate and bring about change to how we exploit the oceans in order for our children and grandchildren […]
FERU Director Rashid Sumaila on the impacts of climate change on global fisheries
Rashid Sumaila, Director of the Fisheries Economics Research Unit (FERU) and the UBC Fisheries Centre spoke with Radio Canada International about the economic impacts of climate change on global oceans and fisheries on November 21, 2011. The interview highlights the results of a new study by Sumaila et. al., Climate change impacts on the biophysics […]
Sumaila, U.R., Cheung, W.W.L., Lam, V.W.Y., Pauly, D. and Herrick, S. (2011). Climate change impacts on the biophysics and economics of world fisheries. Nature Climate Change 1(8): 449-456.
Abstract: Global marine fisheries are underperforming economically because of overfishing, pollution and habitat degradation. Added to these threats is the looming challenge of climate change. Observations, experiments and simulation models show that climate change would result in changes in primary productivity, shifts in distribution and changes in the potential yield of exploited marine species, resulting in […]
Lam, V.W.Y., Sumaila, U.R., Dyck, A., Pauly, D. and Watson, R. (2011). Construction and first applications of a global cost of fishing database. ICES Journal of Marine Science 68(9), 1996-2004.
Abstract: The development of a new global database of fishing cost is described, and an overview of fishing cost patterns at national, regional, and global scales is provided. This fishing cost database provides economic information required for assessing the economics of fisheries at various scales. It covers variable and fixed costs of maritime countries, representing similar […]
Teh, L.S.L., Teh, L.C.L. and Sumaila, U.R. (2011). Quantifying the overlooked socio-economic contribution of small-scale fisheries in Sabah, Malaysia. Fisheries Research 110(3), 450-458.
Abstract: Our study objective is to quantify the present and historical contribution of small-scale fisheries to national economies. We focus on the small-scale fishing sector in Sabah, Malaysia, and use a previously reconstructed time series of Sabah’s small-scale catches as the basis for estimating the economic value of these fisheries. Our findings suggest that since […]
Liu, Y., Sumaila, U.R., Volpe, J.P. (2011). Potential ecological and economic impacts of sea lice from farmed salmon on wild salmon fisheries. Ecological Economics 70(10), 1745-1755.
Abstract: This paper examines the possible ecological and economic effects of sea lice from salmon farms on wild salmon populations and fisheries. A bioeconomic model is developed incorporating an age-structured population dynamics model of wild pink and chum salmon with mortality caused by farm-derived sea lice. Our model incorporates capture fisheries under two management policy scenarios. […]
Heymans, JJ., Mackinson, S., Sumaila, U.R., Dyck, A. and Little, A. (2011). The Impact of Subsidies on the Ecological Sustainability and Future Profits from North Sea Fisheries. PLOS ONE 6(5), e20239.
Abstract: Background: This study examines the impact of subsidies on the profitability and ecological stability of the North Sea fisheries over the past 20 years. It shows the negative impact that subsidies can have on both the biomass of important fish species and the possible profit from fisheries. The study includes subsidies in an ecosystem model […]
McCrea-Strub, A., Zeller, D., Sumaila, U.R., Nelson, J., Balmford, A. and Pauly, D. (2011). Understanding the cost of establishing marine protected areas. Marine Policy 35(1), 1-9.
Abstract: While the recurrent cost of managing marine protected areas (MPAs) has been documented and estimated, there has been virtually no attempt to quantify the cost of establishing MPAs in the first place. This lack of attention is likely the result of the complexity of the process, involving often uncoordinated efforts of a multitude of governmental […]
Srinivasan, U.T., Cheung, W.W.L., Watson, R. and Sumaila, U.R. (2011). Food security implications of global marine catch losses due to overfishing. Journal of Bioeconomics 12(3), 183-200.
Abstract: Excess fishing capacity and the growth in global demand for fishery products have made overfishing ubiquitous in the world’s oceans. Here we describe the potential catch losses due to unsustainable fishing in all countries’ exclusive economic zones (EEZs) and on the high seas over 1950–2004. To do so, we relied upon catch and price statistics […]