Fisheries Economist

About the role

Ocean Associates Inc. (OAI) is seeking a Fisheries Economist to provide economic analysis support to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Office of Sustainable Fisheries (OSF) in Silver Spring, MD. The position is contingent upon award of contract.

Responsibilities

• Provide economic analysis support.
• Support the fishery management actions necessary to enable rapid fulfillment of the requirements of the Seafood Executive Order.
• Support the economic analysis for fisheries management actions resulting from the Seafood EO, and respond to the requests of NOAA and NMFS leadership including but not limited to conducting Regulatory Impact Review analyses, developing fishery descriptions, conducting Regulatory Flexibility Analysis reviews (to include Section 610 reviews), and Small Business entity analyses.
• Assessments including, but not limited to, cost-benefits of proposed management options, including addressing fisheries bycatch and discard issues, capacity, protected species issues, habitat protection restrictions, and social impact assessments in support of the management actions necessary to implement the Seafood EO and respond to the requests of NOAA and NMFS leadership.
• Provide fisheries management input to the Office of Science & Technology’s Trade Dashboard in support of the Seafood EO.
• Evaluate the effects of allocation options between commercial – recreational sectors; within sectors.
• Assess surveys and research of socioeconomic impacts of management actions and disasters on fishing communities, including general public, fishing businesses, crew, aquaculture operations, marine-related businesses and seafood-business employees.
• Evaluate comparative analyses of fishing labor trends.
• Technical editing of economic input to fishery management actions in support of the Seafood EO and in response to NOAA and NMFS leadership requests.
• Evaluation of decision support tools, bio economic models, integrated ecosystem models, angler behavioral models, seafood markets and trade, aquaculture, and fisheries economic impact models.
• Provide support for socio-economic analyses for fisheries management actions for which NOAA is responsible.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree and five (5) years’ experience, or Master’s degree and two (2) years’ experience, from an accredited college or university in environmental policy, fisheries management, or related field of study.
• Experience conducting economic analyses for fishery management actions.
• Direct experience working with NEPA, ESA, MMPA, and the MSA.
• Ability to write progress reports on accomplishments, issues encountered, travel, and recommendations.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.

Preferred

• Experience writing Socio-Economic Impact Assessments and detailed reports quantifying the effects of management options on fishing communities.
• Basic computer skills (MS Office, etc.).
• Ability to work effectively both individually and collaboratively in a team/group setting.
• Ability to receive constructive feedback and implement appropriate action.