by PingSun Leung
Dr. Eugene Y.C. Shang, Emeritus Professor of Agricultural and Resource Economics, passed away peacefully, surrounded by his family, on February 20, 2023 in Sacramento, California.
Dr. Shang joined the University of Hawaiʻi in 1964, first with the Economic Research Center. In 1974, he moved to the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology to better pursue his interest in fisheries and marine economics. He joined CTAHR’s former Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics in 1980 and retired in 1995 with a very successful career.
Dr. Shang was the pioneer in the field of aquaculture economics. He published the first textbook in this area in 1981. His pioneering work in the education and research of aquaculture economics are well-known and well-regarded in Hawaiʻi, as well as nationally and internationally. He was highly sought after by international agencies, such as the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, Asian Development Bank, United Nations Development Program, and International Development Research Center of Canada.
In 1993, Dr. Shang founded the International Association of Aquaculture Economics and Management and served as its president until his retirement. IAAEM is the only international organization devoted entirely to the promotion of socioeconomic research and education in aquaculture. It also publishes its own journal, Aquaculture Economics and Management, through Taylor and Francis, which is in its 27th volume. Dr. Shang’s pioneering work has been documented in a special issue of AEM to honor his contributions to aquaculture economics.
If you wish to send a message to his family, his daughter Ellen’s email is eshang@sbcglobal.net.