The Executive Committee of the International Institute of Fisheries Economics and Trade established the IIFET Distinguished Service Award in 1990. The award is given every two years at the IIFET Biennial Conference, to an individual who exemplifies the following criteria.

A primary goal of IIFET is to improve interaction between academia, trade, and government officials in all countries about fisheries policy and factors which affect international trade in seafood. The Distinguished Service Award will thus be given to an individual who has made significant contributions and had an important effect on the ability of individuals of these different professional orientations and countries to exchange information, data, and perspectives on fisheries issues. A further consideration in choosing the recipient will be the individual's contribution to the theory and/or application of economic science to international fisheries industries, trade, management, and/or policy.

IIFET 2024: Meryl Williams for her dedication to enhancing the economic and social welfare of global fishing communities.

The full announcement can be found here.

IIFET 2020: Juan Carlos Seijo for his achievements in strengthening fisheries economist networks in Mexico and Latin America and for serving as a mentor to many students throughout his career.

The full announcement can be found here.

Seattle 2018: Rebecca Lent, for her role in founding IIFET, her achievements in improving interaction among disparate professional orientations to build understanding of the economic aspects of fishery and marine resource management, and for working across national boundaries to achieve international collaboration on critical marine resource issues.

See the full announcement of this award here.

Scotland 2016: Stella Williams, for her outstanding achievements in building relationships between academia, government, the seafood industry, and fisherfolk, for mentorship, and for fostering gender equity. 

See Professor Williams's acceptance speech here. 

See the full announcement of this award here. 

An article on the award ceremony (including mention both of Dr. Williams' award, and also of a project Stella has been working on with several others, the Special Session on gender economics at the IIFET 2016 Scotland conference and the new Rosemary Firth award) can be found here.

Australia 2014: Sean Pascoe, for his accomplishments in bringing rigorous applied economic research into the service of responsible management of global marine resources, and in fostering the growth and vibrancy of the global community of marine resource economists though education, mentoring and professional interaction.

Tanzania 2012: Ola Flaaten, for extending the global influence of IIFET and for his outstanding service to the world community of fisheries economists. 

See Dr. Flaaten's presentation, Institutional Quality and Catch Performance of Fishing Nations, here.

Montpellier 2010: Susan S. Hanna, for her outstanding service to the fisheries economics profession through research, mentoring, capacity building and policy advice. 

Publishing information for Dr. Hanna's Presentation:
Hanna, Susan. 2011. Economics in the Service of Fisheries Policy and Practice. Marine Resource Economics 26(1):87-94.

Vietnam 2008: Jon G. Sutinen, for his substantial contributions to teaching and research in fisheries economics, the economics of enforcement and compliance, and their application in fisheries management policy internationally.

Portsmouth, UK 2006: Lee Anderson, for his contributions to the theory and practice of fisheries economics, and to promoting a worldwide exchange of perspectives and information on fisheries issues.

Tokyo, Japan 2004: Gordon Munro, for his contribution in the development and application of international trade theory to the management of fisheries.

Wellington, New Zealand 2002: Steve Cunningham, for outstanding contributions to the application of economic theory to global fisheries development, teaching, and research in fisheries economics.

Oregon, USA 2000: Rognvaldur Hannesson, for his outstanding contributions in fisheries economics, management and trade and to IIFET.

Tromso, Norway 1998: Ann Shriver, for her contributions to the vitality, eclat, visibility and image of IIFET.

Marrakesh, Morocco 1996: Parzival Copes, for his outstanding contributions as researcher and educator in fisheries management and development at both applied and conceptual levels. 

In addition to his many professional accomplishments, Parzi had an interesting personal history. In 2005, Gunnar Knapp interviewed him about his youth and personal experiences in Holland before and during World War II; he was captured by and escaped from the German army as a very young man. See attached for a transcription of short excerpts of this oral history.

Taipei, Taiwan 1994: Tadashi Yamamoto

Paris, France 1992: Richard S. Johnston, for his outstanding contributions in international fisheries economics research and education.

Santiago, Chile 1990: Clinton Atkinson