Richard B. Allen

Research

Richard Allen is a fishery consultant and owner of R.B. Allen Associates in Rhode Island. Allen used his Pew fellowship to create user-friendly computer models of the lobster fishery and to demonstrate the usefulness of these models to the fishing community. Allen’s broader purpose went well beyond simply enabling fishermen to understand and use computer models. His long-term goal was to create a shift toward economics-based fisheries management by helping lobster fishermen begin thinking about the fishery in terms of long-range economic goals, acting to reduce fishing pressure, and participating more productively in fishery management decision-making. As a result of his fellowship, Allen launched a website to promote and educate people about lobster conservation. To demonstrate how to use the website and to explain the underlying principles of fishery bioeconomics, he gave numerous presentations at industry, public, government, and fishery management venues throughout the Northeast. He presented at the Long Island Fishermen’s Forum, the Maine Fishermen’s Forum, the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, Portland Maine High School, Yale University, the Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Annual Weekend, the American Fisheries Society Annual Meeting, and the American Political Science Association, to name a few. As a direct result of his research and outreach efforts, Allen made hundreds of connections and developed partnerships with others who are committed to conserving the lobster fishery. Allen also published a booklet on lobster conservation entitled Understanding the Area 2 Lobster Fishery Collapse and Doing Something About It. The booklet incorporates much of the knowledge he gained from his fellowship.