Introduction 428 Four case-studies 428 NE Atlantic -Barents Sea: cod, herring and capelin 429 NW Atlantic -Newfoundland and Labrador: cod and crustaceans 431 Upwelling systems -Northern Benguela Current: small pelagic fishes 434 Upwelling systems -Ghana: demersal and small pelagic fishes 436 Comparisons and contrasts from the case-studies 438 Ecological (biophysical) system 438
AbstractMarine social-ecological systems consist of interactive ecological and human social elements so that changes in ecological systems affect fishing-dependent societies and vice versa. This study compares the responses of marine ecological and fishingdependent systems to environmental change and the impacts of globalization, using four case-studies: NE Atlantic (Barents Sea), NW Atlantic (Newfoundland), SE Atlantic (Namibia) and the equatorial Atlantic (Ghana). Marine ecological systems cope with short-time changes by altering migration and distribution patterns, changing species composition, and changing diets and growth rates; over the longer term, adaptive changes lead to increased turn-over rates and changes in the structure and function of the system. Fishing communities cope with short-term change through intensification and diversification of fishing, migration and 'riding out the storm'. Over the longer term, adaptive changes in policy and fisheries governance can interact with social-ecological change to focus on new fisheries, economic diversification, re-training, out-migration and community closures. Marine social-ecological systems can ultimately possess rapid adaptive capacity in their ecological components, but reduced adaptive capacity in society. Maintaining the diversity of response capabilities on short and longer time scales, among both ecological and human fishing systems, should be a key policy objective. The challenge is to develop robust governance approaches for coupled marine social-ecological systems that can respond to short-and long-term consequences of global change.
Understanding the reciprocal interactions between humans and marine ecosystems has several fundamental difficulties, in particular compatible methodologies and different analytical scales. The issue of scale is central, as the scales chosen for studies of marine systems and human interactions can constrain recognition of the drivers and responses of these systems to global changes. The essential task is to discover how to combine social and natural science scale analyses to understand the impact of natural systems on people and the impact of people on natural systems. We identify characteristic spatial, temporal and organizational scales in marine ecosystems and human interactions, and the difficulties inherent in their cross‐disciplinary application. An approach is suggested focusing on communities of fish and fishers that makes explicit: (1) the need to manage marine resources in such a way as to encompass global to local scales; (2) recognition of the complementary nature of organizational scales between the natural and social sciences and use of appropriate natural science scales in the development of management policies; (3) the need to be aware of shifting temporal baselines and the representative nature of the data over time, for both social and natural sciences; and (4) caution regarding predictive models when humans are included. In terms of methodologies, good scale matches occur across large‐scale social and natural science models and surveys, but problems remain in small‐scale qualitative social studies and in cross‐scale studies. Cumulative case studies appear to provide the best approach, although ‘integrating up’ remains a challenge. Natural and social scientists need to work together to identify these issues of ecosystem processes and human interactions, and their appropriate scales.
Environmental and socioeconomic restructuring has had profound consequences for coastal communities in Canada. The decline of traditional resource-based industries-fisheries, forestry, and mining-and the emergence of new economic activities, such as tourism and aquaculture, compounded by concurrent shifts in social programs, have affected the health of environments, communities, and people. Drawing on research conducted as part of the interdisciplinary major collaborative research initiative Coasts Under Stress, we examined the implications of interactive restructuring for the health of people and communities on Canada's east and west coasts. The research is guided by a socioecological framework that identifies the pathways from interactive restructuring through health determinants to health risks and health outcomes. The utility of the proposed framework is exemplified by a specific place-based example in Prince Rupert, British Columbia, and a case-based example from coastal communities in Newfoundland and Labrador. A focus on interactive restructuring draws our attention to the many challenges associated with promoting health in a context of rapid and often accelerating environmental and institutional change that is relevant to other areas and contexts.
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