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You might be surprised to know that the School of Law—not biological sciences or the marine science program—recently recruited a new faculty member with expertise in fisheries management policy.
Joshua Eagle joined USC this past summer after having taught at Stanford University for the past five years. The Maryland native earned a master’s degree in forest sciences from Colorado State University and a law degree from Georgetown University and conducts research in the area of natural resource management, particularly ocean fisheries.
His knowledge in that field adds an interesting dimension to the law school’s course offerings and is particularly applicable in a state that supports large recreational fishing and commercial shrimping industries. He met recently with TIMES to talk about his new appointment at USC.
What courses will you be teaching in the law school?
In the spring, I’ll teach a course on coastal land use and development, which I hope will attract both law students and graduate-level science students. Among other things, I’m planning to have lawyers on all sides of the debate speaking to the class. I think the class is important because most of our graduates will practice law in South Carolina; they’ll be the ones working with coastal landowners and determining what our coastal areas ultimately look like.
What about your interest in fisheries management?
Next fall, I’m hoping to teach natural resources law, which will include water law, private forestry, and fisheries. Actually, I’ve been doing mainly fisheries topics for the past seven years, so I’m looking forward to some diversification. I will continue, of course, to do fisheries work; I have some grants to look at the issue of ocean zoning.
What’s that?
The idea is that governments could designate some areas in the ocean as designated refuges, like wildlife refuges and bird sanctuaries on land. It’s a very controversial issue, and recreational and commercial fishermen don’t like it. It has never been done on a large scale in the ocean.
So what role can the law play in fisheries management or any other resource management?
The role of law is to guide or inspire individual behavior toward meeting a policy objective such as improving environmental quality. The difficult part is usually not in writing the legislation that will protect the environment, but in getting that legislation enacted. It is important for people who want a healthier environment to track down and involve those who will benefit economically. This is sometimes referred to as the Baptist and bootlegger model. Both groups want to ban Sunday sales of alcohol but for very different reasons. The end result, though, is that alcohol sales are banned on Sunday. In the same way, you have to identify and exploit an economic interest when trying to regulate an activity, or it probably won’t fly.
What were your criteria for the next institution you wanted to work for?
I wanted to be in a place that was as warm as California, close to the ocean, and had a really good marine science program. USC has all three.
10/04
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