Introduction:

Sound management of our marine and coastal resources requires careful interdisciplinary thinking and the integration of multiple forms of information. At SMEA students learn to think about the outcomes of interactions between, humans and the natural resources they derive value from, how define management goals for these outcomes considering dimensions of societal benefits and equity, and how to shape these outcomes within the constraints of the legal system. SMEA faculty members importantly shape this field by serving as the editors-in-chief of two academic journals:
Marine Resource Economics and Coastal Management.

Faculty active in these research areas:

• Professor Patrick Christie
• Professor Emeritus Marc Miller
• Professor of Practice Phil Levin
• Associate Professor Anne Beaudreau
• Associate Professor Emeritus David Fluharty
• Associate Professor Sunny Jardine
• Assistant Professor Erendira Aceves Bueno

Please see individual faculty web pages for more about their work in this area.

Related SMEA courses:

• SMEA 536: Applied Microeconomics for Marine Affairs
• SMEA/FISH 539: US Fisheries Management and Policy

Examples of what MMA faculty and students do in these research areas:

• Learn the laws that govern management of living marine resources and analyze interactions with other relevant laws
• Explore how to improve returns to investments in coastal and marine restoration
• Examine resource management processes and outcomes through the lens of equity and environmental justice and in the context of climate change
• Explore conservation issues such as bycatch, habitat protection, and the role of marine protected areas in fisheries
• Explore the role of seafood systems in supporting human livelihoods and well-being
• Examine international issues such as transboundary and highly migratory species and illegal and unreported high-seas fishing

Examples of related MMA student theses:

• Reynolds, Lauren. 2024. Spatial Adaptation Mechanisms of Small-Scale Artisinal Fishers in Nayarit, Mexico.
• Leighton, Sarah. 2024. An Analysis of the Leading Tidal Energy Projects in the United States since 2000.
• Ameen, Rachel. 2022. Coastal Tourism in Historic Newburyport, Massachusetts: A Mixed Qualitative Methods Exploration of the Impact of COVID-19.
• McMahon, Staci. 2022. A qualitative network model for use in the conservation and management of bull kelp (Nereocystis luetkeana) in Puget Sound.
• Lewis-Smith, Connor. 2022. Risk Mitigation in the West Coast Commercial Fishing Fleet.

Examples of related MMA student capstones:

• Bowser, Lucy; Davidson, Sarah; Nelson-Rowntree, Xavier. 2023. Capstone: Improving capacity of governments and the fisheries sector to conserve marine biodiversity through the use of “other effective area-based conservation measures”.
• McKean, Clayton; Potter, Caroline. 2022. Capstone: Improving Capacity of Governments and the Fisheries Sector to Conserve Marine Biodiversity Through the Use of “Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures”.