Social Indicators of Gentrification Pressure in Fishing Communities: A Context for Social Impact Assessment

Abstract

The use of social indicators in this analysis of coastal communities enhances the evaluation of the combined impacts of changes in fisheries management regulations and gentrification for fisheries social impact assessments. Increasing population pressure, declining fish stocks, and the attractiveness of natural amenities have all led to demographic shifts and economic transformations for many coastal communities dependent on fishing. This impact of “gentrification” on the commercial fishing industry often precipitates a move toward non-marine based economies that can displace local residents and their dependence on fishing as a way of life with resulting impacts to local economies and cultures. Drawing on the United States Census, National Marine Fisheries Service, and other secondary data sources, social indicators were developed for 2,948 coastal communities in the Eastern United States and Gulf Coast and were used to evaluate gentrification pressure in select communities highly engaged in fishing. We anticipate this methodology, when groundtruthed and then combined with time-series assessments, will lead to improvements in the assessment of fishing community vulnerability and resilience for the conduct of fisheries social impact assessments.