Abstract
Heterogeneity among clam harvesters in northwest Mexico shapes individual adaptive capacity
Highlights
Temporal variability is inherent in natural resource-based sectors, including fisheries (Stoll et al 2017)
We used semistructured interviews with clam harvesters to ask: (1) What types of fishers exist within the chocolate clam fishery? (2) How do they differ in their adaptive strategies? and (3) What are the implications of diverse fisher types on individual adaptive capacity? We find that fishers of chocolate clams in this region operate within both the formal and informal sectors, have varied fishing strategies, and can be characterized into four discrete types
We ask: (1) What types of fishers exist within the chocolate clam fishery of Loreto Bay National Park? (2) How do they differ in their adaptive strategies? and (3) What are the implications of diverse fisher types on individual adaptive capacity? We focus on the formal fishery, and on the less visible informal sector that is often excluded from fisheries management
Summary
Temporal variability is inherent in natural resource-based sectors, including fisheries (Stoll et al 2017). This variability is driven by changes in environmental and biological processes, as well as socioeconomic shifts based on market dynamics and consumer demand (Adger 2000). Understanding how individuals make decisions and adapt is key to predicting how they will fare under changing conditions in the future (Coulthard and Britton 2015). Heterogeneity among fishers has consequences both for the sustainability of fished populations and for fishers’ individual capacity to adapt to future change (Coulthard and Britton 2015, Stoll et al 2017, Frawley et al 2019b). Monitoring adaptive responses and considering how community and system-level adaptive capacity is affected by individuals’ abilities to adapt may allow a deeper understanding of feedbacks, trade-offs, and potential improvements to approaches for assessing and building adaptive capacity (Cinner et al 2015)
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