The efforts to transform the Cape Cod fishing industry into a sustainable local endeavor was the topic of “No More Deadliest Catch?,” a talk by Paul Parker and Nick Muto at Haverford last week.
Sponsored by the Department of Economics, Microfinance and Impact Investing Initiative (Mi3), and Center for Career and Professional Advising, the talk was part of Harnessing the Market for Environmental and Social Good, a speaker series on impact investing funded by two Haverford alums. Speakers include practitioners, organizational leaders, entrepreneurs, and leaders in finance.
Muto, a Cape Cod lobsterman who captains his own boat, and Parker, director of the Cape Cod Fisheries Trust, spoke about the changing regulations in the fishing industry, and the challenges to fisherman and their communities brought on by the catch-share and quota systems imposed to protect fish populations.
The Trust, established in 2005, is a program of the nonprofit Cape Cod Commercial Fisherman’s Alliance, whose slogan is “Small boats. Big ideas.” The Trust aims to support a new generation of local Cape Cod fishermen by offering a range of services including a revolving loan fund, a quota leasing system, business planning and technical assistance, and an online platform for fisheries data management. The organization seeks to work with the systems of markets, regulations, and finance to create a sustainable local fishing industry.
Assistant Professor of Economics Shannon Mudd said that the purpose of the speaker series was to explore the nascent yet evolving impact investing industry, which provides capital for social entrepreneurship and aims to create positive financial returns that can be used constructively for social and environmental benefits.
—Hina Fathima ’15
