Ibrahim Issifu

Research Associate Research Unit Fisheries Economics Research Unit Degrees PhD, MSc, MBA (Finance), BA (Economics)

Contact Information

Email: i.issifu@oceans.ubc.ca

Biography

Ibrahim Issifu is an interdisciplinary Fisheries Economist and a Research Associate in the Fisheries Economics Research Unit at the University of British Columbia Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries. He obtained his PhD, & Masters at the Nagoya University, Japan, and BA Economics and MBA (Finance option) at the University of Ghana Business School. His policy-oriented research focuses on the intersections between social, economic and ecological sustainability. Ibrahim has over 10 years’ experience in field-based empirical research complemented by global scale evaluations using big datasets. His interdisciplinary research supports decision-making in the areas of management, social well-being, governance, equality and climate adaptation. He was involved in modelling Distant Water Fishing (DWF) across Senegal, Ghana, Somalia, Madagascar and Mozambique in order to identify the scale and characteristics of the DWFs and its impact on food security, and sustainability of frontline coastal communities in Africa. Additionally, he did a lot of number crunching subsequently leading to publication in Nature Communications entitled “Blue food demand across geographic and temporal scales.” Ibrahim has extensive publications and his latest journal paper in Frontiers in Political Sciences highlights measures to achieve diversity, equity and inclusion in the blue economy.

Research Interests

Blue food, blue economy, marine plastic pollution, socio-economic analysis of fisheries, ocean sustainability, scenario development and analysis, climate change adaptation, fisheries economics and ocean sustainability.

Selected publications:

1. Issifu, I., Dahmouni, I., Deffor, E.W., & Sumaila, UR. (2023). Diversity, equity and inclusion in the blue economy: Why they matter and how do we achieve them? Frontiers in Political Science, 4:1067481. doi: 10.3389/fpos.2022.1067481
2. Issifu, I., Alava, J.J., Lam, V.W.Y., & Sumaila, U.R. (2022). Impact of ocean warming, overfishing and mercury on European fisheries: a risk assessment and policy solution framework. Frontiers in Marine Science, 8:770805. https//doi.10.3389/fmars.2021.770805
3. Cisneros-Montemayor, A.M., Issifu, I., Voyer, M., et al. (2022). A primer on the ‘Blue Economy’: Promise, pitfalls, and pathways. One Earth, 5, 982-986.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2022.08.011
4. Issifu, I., Deffor, E.W., Deyshappriya, N.P.R., Dahmouni, I., & Sumaila, U.R. (2022). Drivers of seafood consumption at different geographical scales. Journal Sustainability Research, 4: e220012. https://doi.org/10.20900/jsr20220012
5. Sumaila, U.R., Issifu, I., Pauly, D., et al. (2022). Aquaculture over-optimism? Frontiers in Marine Science, 9:984354. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.984354
6. Ortiz, I., Issifu, I., et al. (2022). A checklist for climate mitigation and adaptation portfolio development. Frontiers in Marine Science. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/361722700_A_checklist_for_climate_mitigation_and_adaptation_portfolio_development
7. Naylor, L., Issifu, I., et al. (2021). Blue food demand across geographic and temporal scales. Nature Communications, 12, 5413. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-25516-4
8. Sumaila, U.R., Issifu, I., et al. (2021). Financing a sustainable ocean economy. Nature Communications, 12, 3259. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-23168-y
9. Pauly, D., Issifu, I., et al. (2021). Over 100 scientists call on Congress to end illegal fishing, seafood fraud, and human Rights abuses in U.S. seafood supply chain. https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/over-100-scientists-call-congress-141600128.html
10. Sumaila, U.R., Issifu, I., et al. (2021). WTO must ban harmful fisheries subsidies. Science, 6567, 374 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abm1680.
11. Issifu, I., Deffor, E.W., & Sumaila, U.R. (2021). How COVID-19 could change the economics of the plastic recycling sector. Recycling, 6, 64.
12. Issifu, I., & Sumaila, U.R. (2020). A review of the production, recycling and management of marine plastic pollution. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, 8, 945. doi:10.3390/jmse8110945.
13. Issifu, I. (2018). Empirical investigation of impediments to returnees’ entrepreneurship in Ghana: An application of structural equation modelling. Mediterranean Journal of Social sciences, 9, 2039-2117.
14. Issifu, I. (2018). The impact of remittances on domestic investment: The role of financial and institutional development in five countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Forum for International Development Studies, 48, 1-21.
15. Iddisah, S., & Issifu, I. (2015). An empirical examination of the determinants of trust in Ghana. International Journal of Social Economics, 42, 1005-1023.

Non-Referred Publications:

1. Croft, F., Breakey, H., Voyer, M., Moyle, C., Solitei, M., Cisneros-Montemayor, A., Issifu, I., Benzaken, D., Bodwitch, H., Campbell, B., Fusco, L., Ota, Y., Pauwelussen, A., Schutter, M., Pouponnea, A., Barclay, K., Van Leeuwen, J. (2023). Developing an equitable Blue Economy: a guide to embedding equity in governance frameworks. UNEP.
2. Iqbal, T., Hojo, C., Issifu, I., et al. The role of community finance in Cambodia: focusing on the relationship between community finance and investment. Accessed (2022 Nov.) online from https://www2.gsid.nagoya-u.ac.jp/blog/fieldwork/files/2014/10/2013-OFW-Report-Final.pdf
3. PEW & SYSTEMIQ et al. (2020). Breaking the plastic wave: A comprehensive assessment of pathways towards stopping ocean plastic pollution. PEW & SYSTEMIQ Research Report, 2020: https://www.pewtrusts.org/-/media/assets/2020/07/breakingtheplasticwave_report.pdf;

Ibrahim Issifu’s Google Scholar Profile