Dr. Rashid Sumaila is a University Killam Professor at the Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, and the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs, University of British Columbia. His research focuses on bioeconomics, marine ecosystem valuation and the analysis of global issues such as fisheries subsidies, marine protected areas, illegal fishing, climate change, marine plastic pollution, and oil spills. Simply put, the whole world is Sumaila’s work place as he has experience working in 6 continents. Sumaila is one of the most internationally recognized interdisciplinary ocean and fisheries economists, and one of the world’s most innovative researchers on the future of the oceans, integrating the social, economic and fisheries sciences to build novel pathways towards sustainable ocean and fisheries.
His work has challenged today’s approaches to marine governance, generating exciting new ways of thinking about our relationship to the marine biosphere, such as protecting the high seas as a ‘fish bank’ for the world and using ‘intergenerational discount rates’ for natural resource projects. He has won a number of awards and recognitions: 2021 SSHRC Impact Award in the Partnership Category; named a Fellow in the Royal Society of Canada. Sumaila also won the 2017 Volvo Environment Prize.
