The 2022 class of AAAS Fellows includes 505 scientists, engineers, and innovators spanning 24 scientific disciplines who are being recognised for their scien­tifically and socially distinguished achievements.

The AAAS Fellows are a distinguished cadre of scientists, engineers, and innovators who have been recognised for their achievements across disciplines ranging from research, teaching, and technology, to administration in academia, industry, and govern­ment, to excellence in communi­cating and interpreting science to the public.

Dr Sumaila, University Killam Professor in the Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries and the School of Public Policy and Glob­al Affairs, Canada Research Chair (CRC) in Interdisciplinary Ocean and Fisheries Economics (Tier 1) and Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, is recognised by AAAS in the section of Atmospheric & Hydrospheric Sciences for ‘distinguished research into how economics, through integration with ecology and other disciplines, can be used to ensure that environ­mental resources are sustainably managed for the benefit of all generations.

“The AAAS world’s largest gen­eral scientific society and publisher of the Science Family of Journals, has elected Dr Rashid Sumaila to the newest class of AAAS Fellows, among the most distinct honours within the global scientific commu­nity,” a website said.

“This is an honour for me, and a recognition of the subfield of ‘deep’ interdisciplinary ocean and fisheries economics, a field that seeks to open up economics a little bit to make it more interdis­ciplinary, more diverse and more inclusive,” said Dr Sumaila, an old students of Navrongo Senior High School in the Upper East Region.

“The ocean is present at the local, national and global scales, and to sustain it we need partner­ships and the co-creation of ideas, insights from, and actions taken by governments and peoples from all over the world,” he added.

“This is wonderful recognition, and so well deserved,” said Dr Meigan Aronson, Dean, UBC Science. “Dr Sumaila has emerged as leading global voice on fisheries bio-economics, and his research has focused attention on subsidies policy, illegal fishing and resource management at all levels of gov­ernments around the world.”

“AAAS is excited to announce the newest class of fellows from across the scientific enterprise in a tradition dating back nearly 150 years and to honour their broad range of achievements,” said Dr Sudip Parikh, AAAS Chief Executive Officer and Executive Publisher of the Science Family of Journals.

It is recalled that Prof. Sumai­la was awarded the 2017 Volvo Environment Prize laureate.

“Professor Rashid Sumaila is one of the world’s most innova­tive researchers on the future of the oceans, integrating the social and economic dimensions with ecology, law, fisheries science and traditional knowledge to build novel pathways towards sustain­able fisheries,” the citation accom­panying his reward in 2017 said.

“His work has challenged today’s approaches to marine governance and generated excit­ing new ways of thinking about our relationship to the marine biosphere, such as protecting the high seas as a ‘fish bank’ for the world and using ‘intergener­ation discount rates’ for natural resource projects,”

Professor Sumaila is a highly effective, strongly interdisciplinary researcher tackling one of the most complex global sustainability challenges of the 21st century.