Aquaculture Economist

Reference:  PV-2023-038

Department/Office :  Département des Ressources Biologiques et Environnement

Unité de recherche Economie Maritime

Duty station:  Brest, Bretagne, FR , France

Starting date on the job :

Deadline for applications : 12/06/2023

The Institute and the recruiting departement

A pioneer in ocean science, IFREMER’s cutting-edge research is grounded in sustainable development and open science. Our vision is to advance science, expertise and innovation to:

• Protect and restore the ocean
• Sustainably use marine resources to benefit society
• Create and share ocean data, information & knowledge.

With more than 1,500 personnel spread along the French coastline in more than 20 sites, the Institute explores the 3 great oceans: the Indian, Atlantic and Pacific oceans. A leader in ocean science, IFREMER is managing the French Oceanographic Fleet and its dedicated scientists create ground-breaking technology to push the boundaries of ocean exploration and knowledge, from the abyss to the atmosphere-ocean interface.

Well-established in the international scientific community, our scientists, engineers and technicians are committed to advance knowledge about our planet’s last unexplored frontiers. They provide the science we need for informed decision-making and public policy and they transfer this knowledge and technology to businesses to fulfill public and private needs. Core to our mission is also to strengthen public awareness about the importance of understanding the ocean and its resources, and empowering future generations of leaders through education and outreach national campaigns.

Founded in 1984, IFREMER is a French public organization and its budget approximates 240 million euros. It is operating under the joint authority of the French Ministry for Higher Education, Research and Innovation, the french Ministry of the Sea, the French Ministry for the Ecological and Solidary Transition, and the French Ministry of Agriculture and Food.

General areas of responsibility

Located on the site of the Institut Universitaire Européen de la Mer, beside Ifremer Centre in Brittany, the Maritime Economics unit (EM) is an integral part of the Joint Research Unit 6308 AMURE (AMénagement des Usages des Ressources et des Espaces marins et littoraux), which brings together staff from Ifremer, the University of Brest and the CNRS (French National Centre for Scientific Research) in the humanities and social sciences. The main topics addressed by the EM unit are the economic analysis of the development trajectories of maritime activities, the assessment of their impacts on marine and coastal ecosystems and their associated ecosystem services, and the analysis of the responses that can be provided by public policies, particularly in terms of institutions and regulatory mechanisms. The work of the EM team focuses more particularly on the issues of managing exploited living marine resources (e.g. professional and recreational fishing, marine farming) and policies for the marine environment conservation.

The sustainable development of aquaculture is an important issue in the framework of the Blue Economy strategy. It contributes to socio-economic development, to the planning of coastal areas and to food security in a context of strong increase in demand for seafood products and degradation of fisheries resources. The aquaculture sector has to face several challenges relying on economic, social and environmental issues, which are closely linked. All of these challenges need to analyze the transitions towards more resilient and sustainable aquaculture production systems and lead to the exploration of new forms of aquaculture that respond to current and future societal issues, in an increasingly complex political and institutional context. The analysis of these challenges requires the construction of integrated approaches to study the economic, ecological and social conditions for the sustainable development of aquaculture, based on interdisciplinary and even transdisciplinary collaborations, and to explore ways of adapting to changes, including from "Nature Based Solutions". Under the responsibility of the head of the EM unit, you will study the conditions for the development and sustainability of aquaculture and the public policies having a direct or indirect link with aquaculture.

General areas of responsibility

The missions of this position are defined within the framework of the research and expertise work of the EM unit, the UMR AMURE and the Biological Resources and Environment (RBE) department of Ifremer, and in particular of contractualized actions. The expected research concerns (1) the economics of aquaculture sectors, mainly shellfish and fish farming, (2) analysis of transitions towards more resilient and sustainable aquaculture production systems, taking into account the objectives of sustainable food and the systems of regulation and governance of activities at the territorial level, in particular the conditions of access and planning of aquaculture, and (3) expertise in support of public policies in the field of aquaculture.

Principal activities

• Contribute to research in support of sustainable aquaculture development strategies (scenarios and foresight, acceptability and governance)
• Assessing transitions in the aquaculture sector in the context of environmental, economic and social changes
• Analyze public policies directly or indirectly related to the aquaculture sector
• Develop expertise (on the methods of collection) of economic and social data in aquaculture (annual production surveys, national censuses, collection of economic data within the data collection framework – DCF -, etc.) with a view to their use in research projects
• Ensure economic and regulatory monitoring of the shellfish and fish farming sectors and their integration in the international context
• Analysing the dynamics of the aquaculture sectors (factors in the evolution of supply and demand)
• Assessing the different dimensions of the sustainability of aquaculture production systems
• Contribute to expert appraisals relating to the major directives of the Integrated Maritime Policy (DCSMM, Maritime Spatial Planning) and to the development of French Maritime Economic Data (DEMF)
• Actively participate in the unit's scientific production and development
• Collaborate with other researchers and engineers, and supervise technicians, trainees, doctoral students and post-doctoral students

Collaborative work environment

• Internal collaborative relationship : the person recruited will participate in the research and expertise requests of Ifremer's departments related to the main activities of this position. Collaborations with scientists from other Ifremer teams, mainly from RBE and ODE departments, and within the Joint Research Unit AMURE are to be expected in the framework of interdisciplinary research work.
• External collaborative relationship : the person recruited will participate in actions and research projects carried out in collaboration with research organisations and with professional and public administration institutions that are related to the activities described for this position and dealing with aquaculture and economic, ecological and social transitions. Collaboration is also to be expected in the framework of collective expertise conducted by ICES international working groups (e.g. WGSEDA, WGSOCIAL, WKBoBICAO).

Required Knowledge, skills, and characteristics

Required education and experience

• PhD/post-doctoral fellow in agro-economics, resource economics, political science,
• Post-doctorate in applied research
• Experience in intertidisciplinary research

Required knowledge, skills and characteristics

Knowlledge, skills and abilities

• Knowledge of European and French sectors and public policies, particularly in the field of aquaculture
• Mastery of the theoretical bases of natural resources and environmental economics,
• Experience in production systems analysis
• Experience in economic intelligence and implementation of economic information gathering methods (especially in emerging sectors)
• Skills in statistics and sectoral data processing
• Knowledge of modelling approaches desirable
• Fluency in English

Human qualities

• Sense of organisation, responsibility and human relations
• Ability to work in a team.
• Good communication skills

Specific working conditions

• Full time

How to apply for this position

Deadline for applications : 12/06/2023

All applications are processed exclusively via our website. Interested candidates can apply by clicking the “Apply” button.