January 10, 2002
Hilborn opens lecture series
Most solutions to fisheries problems have been shortsighted and don’t provide the right incentives for fishermen, resource managers or scientists, according to Ray Hilborn, UW professor of aquatic and fisheries sciences and lead speaker for this year’s Bevan Series on Sustainable Fisheries. The series, which is free and open to the public, starts today and continues most Thursdays through March 14 from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. at the UW’s Fisheries Sciences Building auditorium.
In Beyond Band-Aids: Setting Appropriate Incentives in Marine Fisheries Hilborn will discuss how the current structure of U.S. fisheries encourages overcapitalization, races for fish, and few, if any, incentives for rebuilding stocks. “The incentives for scientists and managers are equally perverse,” he says, pointing for example to how Congress – and not fisheries managers – typically determines what research is conducted.
Speakers from around the Pacific Rim will address a wide range of subjects including Pacific Northwest salmon aquaculture, saving dolphins in tuna fisheries and the complexities of managing non-food fisheries. The series will explore such questions as: What is our stewardship role? How can we manage marine ecosystems – or should we just manage ourselves? For more information see http://courses.washington.edu/susfish/ or contact Julia Parrish, organizer of the series, at 206-221-5787.
The series is named for the late Donald Bevan, professor of fisheries and marine affairs whose 49-year career at the UW established him as a leader in fisheries science and policy. Funding for the series is contributed by Tanya Bevan and other private donors, and the UW’s Program on the Environment, Washington Sea Grant Program and the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences.
