Takefumi Fujimoto, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Tokyo, visited the NatuRE Policy Lab and presented his research on bycatch species with commercial values in Japan’s purse seine fishery. In 2023, large- and medium-scaled purse seiners in the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea introduced individual quotas (IQ) for horse mackerel and chub/blue mackerel. Because of the two fishes' biological migration patterns, chub/blue mackerel, which has a commercial value, are often caught together with horse mackerel.

ARE PhD candidate Kyumin Kim presented his research on the role of fisheries diversification in promoting non-fishing sector economic growth in fishing communities. While a diverse portfolio of fisheries has been shown to stabilize fisheries income for individual fishers and communities, evidence of its role in stabilizing broader local economies remains limited. This study addresses this gap by investigating how fisheries and industrial diversification influence the economic growth and stability of fishing economies.

ARE Ph.D. candidate Frederik Strabo presented his research on a fishing vessel buyback program deplyaed in the US West Coast Groundfish Fishery. Buyback programs have the potential to address increasing concerns of overcapacity as fisheries' productivity and spatial distribution change in response to changing ocean conditions. Thus, understanding the effects of previous buyback programs is essential for designing future programs to achieve their intended objectives. The U.S.

Ph.D. Candidate Joseph Raymond presented on the impact of diversification on the relative variability of fishing revenues in Alaska. Risk management in Alaskan fisheries is complicated by the dimensions along which fishers might reasonably diversify, and this introduces significant heterogeneity across participants.

Kyumin Kim’s research focuses on the impact of diversification on risk and return in the context of fishing revenues in Alaskan fishing communities. Unlike earlier studies, Kyumin adopts the principles of modern portfolio theory to analyze and elucidate the risk-return tradeoff in commercial fishing, specifically at the community level.

Kyumin Kim presented a research project he is developing studying the value of forecasting jellyfish blooms for commercial fisheries. Jellyfish blooms occur when jellyfish populations experience rapid growth, and they occur at high densities. Although jellyfish are natural parts of marine ecosystems, when they occur in these large numbers, they can interfere with commercial fisheries by damaging equipment and changing the behavior of target species.