Connections Between Economic Growth and Fish Conservation

Moderators: Brian Czech* and Bob Hughes
Emails: brianczech@juno.com and hughes.bob@epa.gov

Date: Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Time: 8:00 am to 12:00 pm
Location: Egan 14

The objectives of our symposium are (1) to illustrate the connections between economic growth and declines in fisheries and fish assemblages by using examples from the Pacific Northwest and (2) to propose what the AFS might do about the conflict between economic growth and fish conservation. Although we have at least 100 years of fisheries data demonstrating how the growth of economic sectors in the aggregate is associated with the collapse of numerous fisheries and fish assemblages, fish biologists continue to overlook macroeconomics and ecological economics in their assessments and conservation efforts. This is largely the result of our education; few fisheries programs have macroeconomics or ecological economics in their curricula. Meanwhile, government policies based on conventional microeconomics assume economic growth is necessary to pay for environmental (and fisheries) protection. This creates a serious contradiction that will not be remedied until ecological economists and fisheries ecologists clarify the conflict between economic growth and fish conservation. To begin that process, we have assembled a diverse set of speakers to describe the conflict from various perspectives. The speakers represent a mosaic of natural resource institutions, scientific disciplines, and economic perspectives. This mosaic will produce a symposium that will be of value to the AFS community and help infuse public policy with principles conducive to fish conservation.

Link to list of presentations in this symposium

Sponsor:

ECONorthwest

AFS Water Quality Section