Valderrama, Diego

Diego Valderrama is Assistant Professor at the Department of Environmental Science and Policy at George Mason University and International Research Associate of EfD Colombia. He holds a PhD in Environmental and Natural Resource Economics from the University of Rhode Island. 

The major focus of his research is the application of economic theory and methods to improve the environmental and economic sustainability of living marine resources.  With regard to fisheries, he has developed relatively complex bio-economic models providing innovative insights for the management of scallop and salmon fisheries in the U.S.  More recently, he has focused on the management of invasive species in marine ecosystems. 

In the aquaculture field, he has investigated the production and environmental economics of a broad range of species (shrimp, tilapia, catfish, hybrid striped bass, sturgeon, scallops, seaweed) and systems (primarily pond aquaculture but also marine aquaculture).  His research has also attempted to measure the potential of aquaculture to improve the socio-economic conditions of coastal communities affected by declining fisheries in developing countries.