Kate Barclay is a senior lecturer in the Social and Political Change Group, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Technology Sydney. Her research centres on tuna fisheries in the Asia Pacific Region – looking at the following aspects:
• The socially embedded aspects of global tuna commodity chains affecting the governance of these industries, including for sustainability
• Economic development opportunities from tuna resources for Pacific Island countries
• Consequences of modernization through fisheries, including effects on ethnic identities and nature-society interactions
• Histories of tuna fisheries development, particularly in Japan, China, Taiwan, Korea, and Pacific Island countries
• The international relations of fisheries management
Kate has acted as researcher for several reports for governments and international organizations, including: 1) a study of global canned tuna trade flows used by the WWF in developing their international campaigns (2008), 2) an overview of economic opportunities in fisheries and aquaculture for the Solomon Islands Government trade policy (commissioned by the United Nations Development Programme, 2008); and 3) a review of the development gains from a multilateral fisheries treaty (the Federated States of Micronesia Agreement) for a group of Pacific Island countries (commissioned by the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency, 2007).
Her major publications have included a book on modernization and ethnic identity issues surrounding a Japanese joint venture in the Pacific (Routledge 2008), a survey of economic development from tuna industries in six Pacific Island countries (ANU ePress 2007), a feature-length documentary of southern bluefin tuna industries in Australia and Japan (self-published 2004). Her recent work has looks at tuna supply chains, for canned and smoked tuna, and for sashimi markets, considering the role of culturally and historically shaped practices as they affect international attempts to regulate fishing.
Kate teaches in the International Studies Program at UTS. She is the course coordinator for the Bachelor of Global Studies and teaches two of the core subjects in that degree. She also coordinates the core subject Foundations in International Studies for the Bachelor of Arts in International Studies.
Her areas of expertise for postgraduate research student supervision include: the social science of fisheries and aquaculture; development studies (particularly with a focus on the Asia Pacific region); international relations (particularly International Political Economy in the Asia Pacific region); Japan studies; and Pacific Island studies.
