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.