Managing small-scale commercial fisheries for adaptive capacity: insights from dynamic social-ecological drivers of change in Monterey Bay.

Stacy E Aguilera,Daniel Malone,Larry B Crowder,Kenneth Broad,Richard M Starr,Joshua E Cinner,Rebecca Martone,Carrie Pomeroy,Sanah Seram,Natalie C Ban,Christina C Hicks,Elodie Le Cornu,Stefan Gelcich,Elena M Finkbeiner,Mark H Carr,John N Kittinger,Jennifer Cole,Rachel Zuercher

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0118992

Abstract

Globally, small-scale fisheries are influenced by dynamic climate, governance, and market drivers, which present social and ecological challenges and opportunities. It is difficult to manage fisheries adaptively for fluctuating drivers, except to allow participants to shift effort among multiple fisheries. Adapting to changing conditions allows small-scale fishery participants to survive economic and environmental disturbances and benefit from optimal conditions. This study explores the relative influence of large-scale drivers on shifts in effort and outcomes among three closely linked fisheries in Monterey Bay since the Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Conservation and Management Act of 1976. In this region, Pacific sardine (Sardinops sagax), northern anchovy (Engraulis mordax), and market squid (Loligo opalescens) fisheries comprise a tightly linked system where shifting focus among fisheries is a key element to adaptive capacity and reduced social and ecological vulnerability. Using a cluster analysis of landings, we identify four modes from 1974 to 2012 that are dominated (i.e., a given species accounting for the plurality of landings) by squid, sardine, anchovy, or lack any dominance, and seven points of transition among these periods. This approach enables us to determine which drivers are associated with each mode and each transition. Overall, we show that market and climate drivers are predominantly attributed to dominance transitions. Model selection of external drivers indicates that governance phases, reflected as perceived abundance, dictate long-term outcomes. Our findings suggest that globally, small-scale fishery managers should consider enabling shifts in effort among fisheries and retaining existing flexibility, as adaptive capacity is a critical determinant for social and ecological resilience.

Highlights

Among fishing communities, fisheries diversification and occupational multiplicity are critical strategies fishermen use to respond to environmental, regulatory, and economic variability and change, and contribute to the viability and welfare of a fishery and associated communities [1,2,3]
This study aims to answer three major questions applied to the Monterey Bay case study as examples that can be applied to other SSF cases: 1) What drivers are associated with fishery participants shifting focus among strongly interconnected small-scale fisheries?
We used landings to characterize the status of the fishery and determine fishery dominance, defined as a given species accounting for the plurality of landings in any given year. These data were extracted from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) commercial fisheries information system (CFIS), Table 18PUB, Poundage and Value of Monterey Bay Area Commercial Fishing, and summed across the region’s three major ports: Monterey, Moss Landing, and Santa Cruz (Fig. 2)

Summary

Introduction

Fisheries diversification and occupational multiplicity are critical strategies fishermen use to respond to environmental, regulatory, and economic variability and change, and contribute to the viability and welfare of a fishery and associated communities [1,2,3]. Recent changes in fisheries policy in the US, such as the implementation of limited access privilege programs (LAPPs, limited entry, catch shares) have been shown in some cases to reduce fisheries diversity and produce inequitable outcomes [13,14,15] Such programs, often marketed as the professionalization of fisheries, can increase the cost of entry, such as permits, and thereby reduce the number of different fisheries a single fisherman might be able to access. Traditional management plans rarely address interactions among fisheries, further hindering adaptive capacity [16] This presents problems for sustaining fisheries in the face of stochastic disturbances such as disease outbreaks, market fluctuations, or long-term shifts in climate [17]

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Conclusion