James L. Anderson

University of Florida | UF · Dept of Food & Resource Economics and Food Systems Institute

Pursuit of the triple bottom line of economic, community and ecological sustainability has increased the complexity of fishery management; fisheries assessments require new types of data and analysis to guide science-based policy in addition to traditional biological information and modeling. We introduce the Fishery Performance Indicators (FPIs),...

Although seafood is the most highly traded food internationally, it is an often overlooked component of global food security. It provides essential local food, livelihoods, and export earnings. Although global capture fisheries production is unlikely to increase, aquaculture is growing considerably. Sustaining seafood's contributions to food securi...

An approach that combines seasonality removal with a multivariate, state-space, time series forecasting model is developed to provide shortrun forecasts for the US salmon market. Time series included in the model are: US fresh Atlantic salmon wholesale price index; fresh salmon (Atlantic, coho and Chinook) monthly US import quantities and prices; a...

Market interactions between the common-property commercial fishery and (1) competitive aquaculturists and (2) a dominant-firm aquaculturist are modeled. It is found that the entry of a competitive aquaculturist increases natural fish stocks, reduces price, and increases total supply. If initially the natural fish stock is at a level below maximum s...

This paper explores the relationship between traditional fisheries, fisheries enhancement (ranching), and aquaculture. It evaluates why they are different and why fisheries economists have largely neglected aquaculture issues, despite the fact that most of the growth in fish supply over the past two decades has been the result of aquaculture develo...

Seafood is the food group with the highest share traded, and the U.S. is the world’s largest seafood importer, importing 79% of the seafood consumed. Hence, a study examining the impacts of the measures to contain COVID-19 on U.S. seafood imports will not only show how U.S. seafood availability has been affected, but will also give strong indicatio...

Food loss and waste (FLW) is a major challenge to food system sustainability, including aquatic foods. Few data exist on aquatic FLW outside of small-scale fisheries, with major gaps in aquaculture species that make up half of global production. We investigated aquatic FLW in the food supply of the United States (US), the largest importer of aquati...

Seasonality is a natural feature of wild caught fisheries that introduces variation in food supply, and which often is amplified by fisheries management systems. Seasonal timing of landings patterns and linkages to consumption patterns can have a potentially strong impact on income for coastal communities as well as import patterns. This study char...

Fisheries and aquaculture are highly reliant on fossil fuels and must transition to renewable energy to reduce carbon emissions and meet global planetary heath goals. Here we assessed total and renewable energy use in farmed catfish and wild-caught salmon, two of the largest seafood sectors in the United States (U.S.). Interviews were used to explo...

This research aims to fill the information gap between the increase in food consumption away from home and the lack of understanding of Americans’ preferences for information transparency of food served in casual and fine dining restaurants. Online discrete choice experiments are applied to elicit consumer preferences for transparency of seafood en...

Fishers tend to prioritize landings of the most valuable product to better utilize vessel capacity. This may lead to discards of catches that are economically undesirable or legally prohibited. The high-value of shark fins and the low-value of shark carcasses has traditionally led to an example of that practice, known as finning. Brazil is an impor...

Aquaculture's rapidly increasing contribution to global aquatic food supply is masked by rhetoric on sustainability and international trade. We examine the association of country-level aquaculture production and per capita consumption of aquatic food in 163 countries. We find a positive association between aquaculture production and aquatic food co...

There is growing recognition that fisheries should be managed for all three pillars of sustainability: economic, social and environmental sustainability. Limited quantitative evidence exists on factors supporting social sustainability, much less factors that contribute to multiple dimensions of sustainability. To develop a broader understanding of...

An estimated 74.9% of China’s seafood imports are reexported

Compared to finfish and crustaceans, limited attention has been given to the economic modeling and production risk analysis of mollusk aquaculture. Given mollusk aquaculture's sensitivity to environmental factors, understanding production risk and its relationship to production technology and location is critical to firm viability. We modeled produ...

American consumer preference for restaurant food is shifting based on personal health, food quality, and environmental impact. However, data on information related to these preferences are limited. This research uses two national online surveys to examine American consumer preferences and values related to obtaining information about fish entrées s...

While a large number of studies have investigated seafood consumption in various markets, surprisingly little is known about the types of seafood sold in retail outlets or their product forms. in the USA. This is particularly true for fresh seafood, which is generally regarded as the most valuable product form of seafood. In this article, a unique...

The combination of advances in knowledge, technology, changes in consumer preference and low cost of manufacturing is accelerating the next technology revolution in crop, livestock and fish production systems. This will have major implications for how, where and by whom food will be produced in the future. This next technology revolution could bene...

Seafood is a highly traded commodity and 71% of the United States (U.S.) supply is imported. This study addresses questions about imported seafood safety and compares risks of outbreaks and recalls across countries of origin, species, and stages of the supply chain. We found that where seafood comes from does not play a major role in risk. Risk is...

This paper uses Fishery Performance Indicators (FPIs) to compare nine Chinese fisheries in terms of their triple bottom line (ecological, economic, and community sustainability) with the top 10% performing fisheries within the global FPIs database. The results show the largest differences between the Chinese fisheries and top-performing fisheries g...

This special section of Marine Policy is devoted to applications of the Fisheries Performance Indicators (FPIs). The overall objective of these indicators is to provide a low cost, easily accessible and rapid assessment tool that measures an overall status of a particular fishery anywhere in the world where all three sustainability pillars; ecology...

Aquaculture is growing in Florida as it is worldwide, but in Florida aquaculture has not yet reached its substantial potential. To understand why this might be, the University of Florida's Institute of Sustainable Food Systems organized and convened a meeting between small-agency, industry, and academic stakeholders to discuss the opportunities and...

Shrimp is not only one of the world’s most valuable aquaculture species, but also a species that encounter high economic losses due to diseases. Diseases are sufficiently important to influence global supply and prices for longer periods. Profitability is the driving force behind shrimp farming and high profits associated with the absence of diseas...

China is the world’s largest seafood exporter, and changes in its seafood trade patterns have global impacts. In this article, China’s trade patterns are investigated using a gravity-type model. To examine whether trade patterns vary by product form and species group, 13 different models are estimated. The results indicate substantial variation in...

Seafood is among the most highly traded food commodities, and one will expect trade patterns to be highly dynamic. In this paper, trade duration is investigated for Chinese shrimp exports using firm-level data for the period 2007–2015. In line with the results from the general literature, most trade relationships in the Chinese exports of shrimp ar...

Concerns that additional supplies of U.S. farm-raised fish may compete with domestic wild fish has contributed to resistance and litigation that has slowed aquaculture development in the U.S. We employ a contingent choice experiment to large seafood wholesalers and suppliers in the U.S. to investigate market potential of new farmed finfish species...

Discussions about global aquaculture production and prospects for future growth largely focus on Asia, where most global production takes place. Countries in Asia accounted for about 89% of global production in 2016. Exclusive attention to Asian aquaculture, however, overlooks the fact that “the blue revolution” is occurring in most parts of the wo...

Since the Blue Revolution began in the late 1960s, global aquaculture production has grown rapidly. Aquaculture now accounts for over half of the world's fish for direct human consumption and is expected to approach two-thirds by 2030. With aquaculture's growth, a number of high-profile concerns have arisen, including pollution, feeding practices,...

U.S. seafood consumption has changed dramatically in recent decades and has become increasingly dominated by the consumption of a limited number of species that are primarily imported and predominantly sourced from aquaculture. In getting to this point, the United States has been, and still is, at the forefront of some of the most important trends...

We characterize the ecological, economic, and community performance of 21 major tuna fisheries, accounting for at least 77% of global tuna production, using the Fishery Performance Indicators. Our analysis reveals that the biggest variations in performance among tuna fisheries are driven by the final markets that they target: international sashimi...

Fisheries that intersect with the high seas, or areas beyond national jurisdictions (ABNJ), are ecologically, institutionally, and politically complex. These fisheries also generate enormous economic and social benefits, and have the potential to generate even greater benefits and wealth under improved management regimes that incorporate incentives...

Significance The United Nations proclaims that sustainable development comprises environmental, economic, and social sustainability. Fisheries contribute to livelihoods, food security, and human health worldwide; however, as the planet’s last major hunting and gathering industry, whether, and if so, how fishing can achieve all three pillars of sust...

Many analyses of fishery recovery have demonstrated the potential biological and economic benefits of management reform, but few have compared these to the associated costs of management upgrades, which can be substantial. This study aims to determine if the projected economic benefits of management reform outweigh the increases in management costs...

Fisheries that intersect with the high seas, or areas beyond national jurisdictions (ABNJ), are ecologically, institutionally, and politically complex. These fisheries also generate enormous economic and social benefits, and have the potential to generate even greater benefits and wealth under improved management regimes that incorporate incentives...

The seafood market has changed dramatically in recent decades. Increased trade has created a global market for groups of species with similar characteristics, and the number of species that are becoming part of these global market segments continue to grow. Increased trade and stagnating landings of wild fish has also facilitated the rapid growth o...

A number of fisheries development projects are undertaken every year in recognition of the important role fisheries play in many coastal communities. The objectives vary, but typically go beyond a limited focus on fisheries management and the ecosystem. This makes it difficult to evaluate the contribution of a project, particularly in data poor env...

Aquaculture has become the world's fastest growing food-production technology. This chapter outlines the main factors for this growth and shows how farmed seafood can contribute directly and indirectly to food security. We used the databases of the FAO on food production and trade to analyze the development of production in the main categories of a...

For fisheries to provide a strong economic foundation for the communities that depend on them, or to serve as catalysts for regional economic development, fisheries stakeholders, managers, researchers, NGOs and aid agencies must also be attentive to measurable outcomes. As the Blue Ribbon Panel (2013) asserted, assessing global fisheries’ performan...

Seafood sector can contribute to the global food supply in an important way, and provide an important source of animal protein. Based on observed regional trends in seafood production and consumption and using a global, partial-equilibrium, multi-market model, this study investigates what the global seafood market may look like in 2030. The model p...

Demand for sustainably certified wild-caught fish and crustaceans is increasingly shaping global seafood markets. Retailers such as Walmart in the United States, Sainsbury's in the United Kingdom, and Carrefour in France, and processors such as Canadianbased High Liner Foods, have promised to source all fresh, frozen, farmed, and wild seafood from...

Covering nearly half of the Earth׳s surface, the high seas provide a diverse range of ecosystem services crucial to human well-being and the health of both marine and terrestrial ecosystems. At the same time, the vastness of the high seas and the limitations of corresponding governance instruments present a considerable challenge to policy-makers w...

Key Points • We are the apex predator. The apex predator is an economic, global, and innovative animal. The question is not how to manage fish, but how to manage the behavior of the apex predator—people. • Think globally and act globally. Fisheries science and management must be practiced in the context of the dynamic and global socioecological sys...

The Global Partnership for Oceans (GPO) is an alliance of governments, private firms, international organizations, and civil society groups that aims to promote ocean health while contributing to human wellbeing. A Blue Ribbon Panel (BRP) was commissioned to develop guiding principles for GPO investments. Here we offer commentary on the BRP report...

When evaluated using biological criteria, Alaskan salmon fisheries are considered to be among the best managed commercial fisheries in the world. Nevertheless, the economic performance of these fisheries has deteriorated in recent years as a result of a long-term decline in ex-vessel prices triggered by exponential growth in the world salmon farmin...

This chapter illustrates the management for the intentional introduction of nonnative species, based on the case of introducing nonnative oysters on the US East Coast, from two institutional structures. First, we consider the public management context, where a government agency makes all decisions regarding introduction and management of the introd...

The remarkable growth of the global salmon aquaculture industry has generated important implications for Alaskan salmon fisheries as increased supplies of farmed product have led to declines in prices of both farmed and wild species. In the particular case of Bristol Bay sockeye salmon, falling prices and declining profit margins have led to reduce...

Aquaculture is a controversial issue in the U.S.A., and to what extent U.S. aquaculture stakeholders support its expansion determines the future of this industry. This paper compares the perceptional differences of aquaculture stakeholders in the U.S.A. and Norway, and investigates how their perceptions influence their decisions to support aquacult...

This research presents a bioeconomic framework for assessing the economic feasibility of an offshore bluefin tuna aquaculture operation by developing a dynamic stochastic adaptive bioeconomic model of such an offshore enterprise. The bioeconomic model incorporates the biological constraints of the species, the interaction of relevant economic param...

This paper defines sustainable aquaculture and its relationship to fisheries. An essential feature of a sustainable aquaculture system is economic sustainability. Without it the other "sustainabilities" are of little consequence. Based on economic principles, the paper identifies essential conditions that result in incentives (disincentives) for su...

Exploring the possibilities for commercial aquaculture has historically concentrated on reducing production uncertainty by focusing on an animal's biology and the engineering of the production facility. However, the aquaculturist faces both production and market uncertainty, both of which may significantly affect the economic feasibility of a produ...

An age-structured bioeconomic model was constructed to determine optimal patterns of exploitation for the U.S. Atlantic sea scallop fishery. Results indicated that economic rents are maximized by engaging in pulse fishing strategies, whereby fishing only occurs following a multi-year closure period. Closures allow biomass to accumulate undisturbed...

An age-structured bioeconomic model was constructed to determine optimal patterns of exploitation for the U.S. Atlantic sea scallop fishery. Results indicated that economic rents are maximized by engaging in pulse fishing strategies, whereby fishing only occurs following a multi-year closure period Closures allow biomass to accumulate undisturbed f...

Fishmeal is a critically important feed ingredient for use in animal (e.g., poultry and pigs) and aquaculture production (e.g., salmon, trout and shrimp). There is great concern that increasing demand for fishmeal will place stress on the world's pelagic fisheries and may undermine the sustainability of aquaculture systems. Our research shows that...

This paper empirically illustrates the importance of market considerations for conservation with the U.S. bluefin tuna fishery. It measures the actual gains of a systemic approach to fisheries conservation where market, fishing technology, and fish population information are integrated in the regulatory process. In particular, we investigate the po...

The effectiveness of the US Atlantic sea scallop fishery regulations has resulted in recovery from a biological standpoint. However, due to excessive harvest capability and regulatory inefficiencies, the industry is facing substantial harvesting costs and, hence, economic inefficiency. The main reason is that most regulations or restrictions do not...