Vishwanie Maharaj

Vishwanie Maharaj is an economist with the Environmental Defense Fund in their Austin, Texas office, where she works to advance economic and business strategies to restore the Gulf of Mexico’s fishery and coastal resources. Projects include development of new market-based tools for fishery management and supervision of research projects to depict the economic and conservation benefits of IFQ programs. Prior to joining the Environmental Defense Fund, Dr. Maharaj served as the director of economics for the American Sportfishing Association and economist with the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council. Past research projects include studies to value recreational fisheries and studies to measure the economic impact of recreational fishing. Dr. Maharaj has also served as a member of the federal Ecosystems Approach and Federal Investment task forces to study a broader ecosystem context for fisheries management and the federal government’s role in subsidizing capitalization in U.S. fisheries.