Building adaptive capacity to climate change in tropical coastal communities

To minimize the impacts of climate change on human wellbeing, governments, development agencies, and civil society organizations have made substantial investments in improving people's capacity to adapt to change. Yet to date, these investments have tended to focus on a very narrow understanding of adaptive capacity. Here, we propose an approach to build adaptive capacity across five domains: the assets that people can draw upon in times of need; the flexibility to change strategies; the ability to organize and act collectively; learning to recognize and respond to change; and the agency to determine whether to change or not

Social capital as an ecosystem service: Evidence from a locally managed marine area

Social capital is an important ecosystem service, yet we lack common understanding of how it fits, and can be operationalized, within the ecosystem services framework. We review the literature to clarify the role of social capital in this context, establishing it as a multidimensional concept and a fundamental constituent of human well-being that is both supported by, and affects, all categories of ecosystem services. We then draw on qualitative and quantitative data to assess and value social capital as an ecosystem service and explore its role in facilitating management goals in a Malagasy locally managed marine area. We find high levels of social capital, gauged by trust, community involvement, and social cohesion. Results of a choice experiment show positive utilities associated with high levels of social cohesion. Respondents also ranked social cohesion higher than some provisioning, regulating, and cultural ecosystem services. Qualitative data suggest social capital increased as a result of the community based management institution, and has facilitated the success of marine management measures. Our results offer insight into the ways in which social capital can both affect, and be affected by, the management of natural resources, and how it can be assessed and valued as an ecosystem service

Global economic value of shark ecotourism: implications for conservation

Amid declining shark populations because of overfishing, a burgeoning shark watching industry, already well established in some locations, generates benefits from shark protection. We compile reported economic benefits at shark watching locations and use a meta-analytical approach to estimate benefits at sites without available data. Results suggest that, globally, c. 590,000 shark watchers expend > USD 314 million per year, directly supporting 10,000 jobs. By comparison, the landed value of global shark fisheries is currently c. USD 630 million and has been in decline for most of the past decade. Based on current observed trends, numbers of shark watchers could more than double within the next 20 years, generating > USD 780 million in tourist expenditures around the world. This supports optimistic projections at new sites, including those in an increasing number of shark sanctuaries established primarily for shark conservation and enacted in recognition of the ecological and economic importance of living sharks

Seafood purchasing preferences of Hawaii chefs: comparing actual purchase to stated preferences from conjoint choice experiment

This study investigated if Hawaii chefs use wild seafood products over farm-raised and local over imports. Chefs were asked to estimate their purchases for shrimp, tuna, mahimahi, and salmon. Chefs were also asked to choose products within conjoint choice experiments to indirectly determine their preferences. Price is the most important attribute for shrimp. Hawaii chefs would prefer wild and farm-raised local, fresh shrimp if it were competitively priced over low-priced imported and frozen alternatives. This result can be useful for the shrimp aquaculture industry in Hawaii. The low importance of production method when purchasing seafood should be further explored

Influence of network structure on cooperative dynamics in coupled socio-ecological systems

10.1209/0295-5075/104/28003EPL1042

Reflections on Social Wellbeing and the Values of Small-Scale Fisheries: Implications for Research, Policy and Management

The contributors to this volume engaged in different ways with social wellbeing as an approach through which to investigate, identify and make visible a broad range of values associated with small-scale fisheries. In this concluding chapter, we highlight four themes that emerge from these contributions that are crucial for thinking about the diverse values of small-scale fisheries: 1) the broader context of transition; 2) integrating environmental considerations into wellbeing through co-construction and place; 3) recognizing the fertile, yet productively unsettled idea that value represents for small-scale fisheries, and; 4) putting into practice the social wellbeing approach to values that this volume develops. We point to connections between our approach and the FAO Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication

A satellite‐based mobile warning system to reduce interactions with an endangered species

Earth‐observing satellites are a major research tool for spatially explicit ecosystem nowcasting and forecasting. However, there are practical challenges when integrating satellite data into usable real‐time products for stakeholders. The need of forecast immediacy and accuracy means that forecast systems must account for missing data and data latency while delivering a timely, accurate, and actionable product to stakeholders. This is especially true for species that have legal protection. Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus (Atlantic sturgeon) were listed under the United States Endangered Species Act in 2012, which triggered immediate management action to foster population recovery and increase conservation measures. Building upon an existing research occurrence model, we developed an Atlantic sturgeon forecast system in the Delaware Bay, USA. To overcome missing satellite data due to clouds and produce a 3‐d forecast of ocean conditions, we implemented data interpolating empirical orthogonal functions (DINEOF) on daily observed satellite data. We applied the Atlantic sturgeon research model to the DINEOF output and found that it correctly predicted Atlantic sturgeon telemetry occurrences over 90% of the time within a 3‐d forecast. A similar framework has been utilized to forecast harmful algal blooms, but to our knowledge, this is the first time a species distribution model has been applied to DINEOF gap‐filled data to produce a forecast product for fishes. To implement this product into an applied management setting, we worked with state and federal organizations to develop real‐time and forecasted risk maps in the Delaware River Estuary for both state‐level managers and commercial fishers. An automated system creates and distributes these risk maps to subscribers’ mobile devices, highlighting areas that should be avoided to reduce interactions. Additionally, an interactive web interface allows users to plot historic, current, future, and climatological risk maps as well as the underlying model output of Atlantic sturgeon occurrence. The mobile system and web tool provide both stakeholders and managers real‐time access to estimated occurrences of Atlantic sturgeon, enabling conservation planning and informing fisher behavior to reduce interactions with this endangered species while minimizing impacts to fisheries and other projects