Adaptive capacity of the Maine lobster fishery: insights from the Maine Fishermen’s Climate Roundtables
Abstract
Introduction
Methods
Positionality
Fishery context and Maine Fishermen’s Climate Roundtable records
Thematic analysis and domains of adaptive capacity
Themes | Corresponding code | Definition |
---|---|---|
Environmental observations | Climate-Oceanographic | All references to oceanographic indicators of climate change. (SST, freshening, salinity, ocean currents, etc.) |
Ecological Changes | Ecological changes referenced that are not specifically about lobsters such as new species appearing in Gulf of Maine waters, common historic Gulf of Maine species disappearing or observations of species anomalies (such as various types of sharks, or sea horses). | |
Lobsters-Size | Observations onf changes in the size of lobsters caught in traps. Also captures conversations around the larval stages of lobsters. | |
Lobsters-Health | Observations onf the physical health of the lobsters. Commonly, this code captured conversations about observed instances of shell disease. | |
Lobsters-Biomass | Observations ofn the biomass of the lobster population and its location in Gulf of Maine waters. | |
Lobsters-Sex | Observations onof ratios of male to female lobsters caught in traps, frequency and size at which females are reproducing, and v-notch observations. | |
Fishermen’s responses to change | Season | Fishing happening in a new time of year than historically. Example: fishermen setting traps and catching lobsters in months they historically never would have been able to catch lobsters. Specific responses captured by this code include: fishing in a non-historical, new time of year. |
Location | Fishing happening in a new location regardless of Federal or State waters. Specific responses captured by this code include: fishing in a non-historical, new location; and increasing traps set in federal waters; and buying or selling a federal permit. | |
Bait | Observations around bait type, availability, and price. Specific responses captured by this code include: use of non-traditional bait; fishing fewer traps; and using bait saver bags. | |
Federal v State | Fishing in Federal waters. Also captures conversations about the difference between fishing in State and Federal waters. Specific responses captured by this code include: purchasing gear more suited to federal water fishing; and buying or selling a federal permit. | |
Governance | Fishermen interacting with governing bodies of the Llobster Ffishery such as NOAA, NFMS, ASMFC, or local Lobster Advisory Councils. Specific responses captured by this code include: interacting with federal, regional, state, or local fishing management processes; inability to join other fisheries; and desire to participate in fisheries for new species appearing in the Gulf of Maine. | |
Economics | Observations on related to fishery economics such as profit gains/losses, expenses, ex-vessel prices, co-op profits, and purchasing new boats. Specific responses captured by this code include: entering into other revenue streams; and selling lobster internationally/expanding markets. | |
Other Species | Fishing for other Gulf of Maine species such as scallops, alewives or groundfish. Also captured conversations about aquaculture. Specific responses captured by this code include: fishing other species; and diversifying into aquaculture. | |
Research Needs | Questions posed by fishermen that they wanted an answer to on scientific or economic topics such as explanations for the cost of bait, or temperature thresholds for lobster larval survival. Specific responses captured by this code include: calls for more research. | |
Fishery context | Fishermen-Concerns | Conversations about any fisherman generated concern about the fishery, either individual or community based and for any reason. Includes topics such as generational divide, children’s success, federal fishery, bait shortages, community changes, and more. |
Historical Anecdotes | Observations that compare the year being discussed to a period prior to the Climate Roundtables. Example: Conversations that start with the phrase "“back in the ‘70s, ‘80s, ‘90s…"” and compares that time to the current year being discussed. |
Note: Specific strategies or responses of fishermen associated with the five domains of adaptive capacity in Table 2 are included under the definitions column for the theme “Fishermen's responses to change”.
Response | Domain(s) | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fishing in non-historical, new locations | Diversity and flexibility | x | x | x | nd | x | nd | x | x | x | x | x | x | |||
Fishing in non-historical, new time of year | Diversity and flexibility | x | x | x | nd | x | nd | x | x | x | x | x | ||||
Increasing traps set in federal waters | Diversity and flexibility | x | x | x | nd | nd | x | x | x | x | x | x | ||||
Use of non-traditional bait (this covers bait shortages and cost mechanisms of change) | Diversity and flexibility, Access to assets, Natural capital | x | x | x | nd | x | nd | x | x | x | x | x | x | |||
Purchasing gear more suited to federal water fishing | Access to assets | x | x | nd | x | nd | x | x | x | |||||||
Call for more research | Learning and knowledge, Governance and institutions | x | x | x | nd | x | nd | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | ||
Interacting with federal, regional, state, or local fishing management processes | Governance and institutions | x | x | x | nd | nd | x | x | x | |||||||
Buying or selling a federal permit | Diversity and flexibility, Access to assets | x | x | nd | nd | x | ||||||||||
Inability to join other fisheries | Diversity and flexibility, Governance and institutions, Natural capital | x | nd | nd | x | x | x | x | ||||||||
Fishing fewer traps | Diversity and flexibility | x | nd | nd | x | |||||||||||
Entering into other revenue streams | Diversity and flexibility, Access to assets | nd | nd | x | ||||||||||||
Fishing other species | Diversity and flexibility, Access to assets, Natural capital | x | nd | nd | x | x | x | x | ||||||||
Diversifying to aquaculture | Diversity and flexibility, Access to assets, Natural capital | nd | nd | x | x | x | ||||||||||
Use of bait saver bags | Diversity and flexibility, Access to assets, Learning and knowledge | nd | nd | x | x | x | ||||||||||
Selling lobsters internationally- expanding markets | Access to assets | nd | nd | x | x | |||||||||||
Desire to participate in fisheries for new species appearing in the Gulf of Maine | Diversity and flexibility, Governance and institutions, Natural capital | nd | nd | x | x | x |
Note: Non-shaded boxes do not indicate that a response did not occur, rather it did not come up as a discussion topic in the Climate Roundtable that year. “nd” notation indicates no data was available for that year.
Results
Social–ecological pressures on the fishery
Fishing strategies and adaptive capacity domains
Access to assets
Diversity and flexibility
Learning and knowledge
Governance and institutions
So if you're a diversified fisherman, you can look at where to put your effort in what distribution to kind of be the safest. So the reason that these permits might become available is because the Mid Atlantic Council is addressing latent effort in their fishery. So it doesn't do us any good to have to get an allocation and have a permit and then have latent effort in our fishery. So like if you knew, that's my thing, like we had a lot of squid a couple of years ago, we didn't have any last year, maybe we'll have some next year. But if you could kind of look at sort of, some kind of prediction and be like “well the water's gonna warm up and they like this, you know, environment” then you know that we could go somewhere with that.
Natural capital
Discussion
Strategies in response to social–ecological change
Climate Roundtables as a forum for knowledge exchange
Choosing a way forward
Acknowledgements
References
Appendix A. Ecosystem changes discussed during the Maine Fishermen’s Climate Roundtables, 2007–2021
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