Mobility and flexibility enable resilience of human harvesters to environmental perturbation. (January 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Liu, Owen R.; Fisher, Mary; Feist, Blake E.; Abrahms, Briana; Richerson, Kate; Samhouri, Jameal F.
• Is Part Of: Global environmental change. Volume 78(2023)
• Publication Date: 2023-01
• Subjects: Climate change adaptation -- Environmental perturbation -- Marine heatwave -- Fisheries dynamics; Environmental policy -- Periodicals; Human ecology -- Periodicals; Nature -- Effect of human beings on -- Periodicals; Environment -- Periodicals; Environnement -- Politique gouvernementale -- Périodiques; Écologie humaine -- Périodiques; Homme -- Influence sur la nature -- Périodiques; Environmental policy; Human ecology; Nature -- Effect of human beings on; Periodicals; Electronic journals; 333.7
• DOI: 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2022.102629
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0959-3780

Abstract

Highlights: West coast Dungeness crab fishers experienced a marine heatwave from 2014–2018. We used satellite locations and landings data to describe adaptation strategies. Dungeness crab fishers used spatial mobility and portfolio diversification to adapt. Managers can support future resilience through increasing flexibility for fishers. Abstract: Sustainable management of ecosystem services requires knowledge of both natural and human systems, but the adaptive behaviors of human harvesters in response to management changes and environmental variability are poorly understood. Given the specter of accelerating climate change, it is especially critical to understand how human harvesters may respond to environmental perturbation. In this study, we identify characteristics that promoted resilience of one the most valuable fisheries on the west coast of the United States to a record marine heatwave. Using movement telemetry linked to Dungeness crab fishery landings records from more than 500 fishing vessels, encompassing 2.2 million geolocations and more than USD two billion in revenue, we found that commercial fishing vessels employed two, non-mutually exclusive strategies to cope with the anomalous environmental and management conditions imposed by the heatwave: increasing spatial mobility and diversifying fishery participation. The combination of these strategies appeared to be the most adaptive, as it produced the greatest increase in Dungeness crab profits. In contrast, participants that specialized in a single fishery and concentrated fishing effort in small spatial areas did not perform as well. Our data-driven approach reveals behaviors that can be promoted to improve the adaptive capacity of human harvesters in an era of unprecedented environmental perturbation.