Assessing Climate Vulnerability and Adaptation Options in Northeast U. S. Fishing Communities

Climate change is affecting marine ecosystems, fish populations, fisheries, and fishing communities around the world. While climate-related changes in fish productivity and distribution have been widely documented, these effects often have not been incorporated into locally-relevant climate assessments. For Northeast U. S. fishing communities from Maine to Virginia, we have developed port-scale assessments of social-ecological vulnerability to climate change based on species vulnerability assessments and distribution projections, current resource use and dependence, and adaptive capacity. In four communities, we work closely with fishing industry participants and municipal leaders to identify adaptation strategies of local interest and evaluate the potential benefits of implementing these strategies through a set of bioeconomic models. We also map barriers and facilitators associated with specific adaptation strategies to create adaptation pathways for each fishing community based on the relative benefits and implementation feasibility of potential strategies. These products provide information that can support decision-making and adaptation planning at community and regional levels.