Climate adaptation in the market squid fishery: fishermen responses to past variability associated with El Niño Southern Oscillation cycles inform our understanding of adaptive capacity in the face of future climate change

Abstract

Evaluating the strategies fishermen have used to respond to short-term climate variability in the past can help inform our understanding of the adaptive capacity of a fishery in the face of anticipated future change. Using historic fishery landings, climate records, and fishermen surveys, we document how market squid fishermen respond to high seasonal and interannual climate variability associated with the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and responses to hypothetical future scenarios of low abundance and range shift. Overall, fishermen have been able to adapt to dramatic shifts in the geographic range of the fishery given their high mobility, with fishermen with larger vessels expressing a willingness to travel greater distances than those with smaller vessels. Nearly half of fishermen stated that they would switch fisheries if market squid decreased dramatically in abundance, although fishermen who were older, had been in the fishery longer, were highly dependent on squid for income, and held only squid and/or coastal pelagic finfish permits were less likely to switch to another fishery in a scenario of lower abundance. While market squid fishermen have exhibited highly adaptive behavior in the face of past climate variability, recent (and likely future) range shifts across state boundaries, as well as closures of other fisheries, constrain fishermen’s choices and emphasize the need for flexibility in management systems. Our study highlights the importance of considering connectivity between fisheries and monitoring and anticipating trans-jurisdictional range shifts to facilitate adaptive fishery management. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10584-022-03394-z.

Microeconomic adaptation to severe climate disturbances on Australian coral reefs

“…Operators might have temporarily or permanently relocated their tours to other reef sites that were of similar quality to the sites they were using before the disturbance, and thus visitor experiences might have been comparable before and after. Our findings align with other recent empirical studies that identified spatial diversification as key adaptation strategy to environmental change (Pecl et al 2019 ; Silas et al 2020 ; Gonzalez-Mon et al 2021 ; Powell et al 2022 ) and as an important response by alpine tourism operators affected by climate change (Hoffmann et al 2009 ; Mourey et al 2020 ; Welling and Abegg 2021 ). In our cyclone-impacts sample, about 80% of operators responded by changing their reef sites.…”

Fishermen’s perceptions of constraints on adaptive capacity in the California market squid and California spiny lobster fisheries

“…In order to prevent excessive fishing effort (facilitated by newer, larger, and more efficient vessels) and allow for critical periods of uninterrupted spawning, the CDFW developed the Market Squid FMP in 2005, which consists of several static management measures including: a fixed seasonal catch limit of 118,000 tons, 2-day weekend closures, light and gear restrictions, a restricted access program, and monitoring programs (port sampling and logbooks) (CDFW, 2005). Market squid populations, and associated catch, fluctuate dramatically in response to variations in ocean conditions, declining drastically in unfavorable environments associated with El Niño events, characterized by warm SST and low productivity, and rebound rapidly during favorable conditions associated with La Niña events, characterized by cool SST and high productivity (Reiss et al, 2004;van Noord and Dorval, 2017;Powell et al, 2022).…”

“…Squid fishermen historically have shifted effort among coastal pelagic finfish species (i.e., Pacific sardine, Pacific and jack mackerel, and northern anchovy) in response to fluctuations in resource availability or demand associated with climate, market, and regulatory changes (Pomeroy et al, 2002;Aguilera et al, 2015). Coastal pelagic finfish permits are the most frequently held additional permit for market squid fishermen (Powell et al, 2022) due to their overlapping ranges, and overlapping requirements for gear, vessels, and personnel (Pomeroy et al, 2002). Despite the interconnectedness of these fisheries and the flexibility it historically afforded fishermen, recent closures of the sardine fishery, an overall decrease in market value, and quota reductions now undercut the advantages of having this permit, meaning the most complementary and commonly held additional permit no longer increases flexibility (Powell et al, 2022).…”

“…Coastal pelagic finfish permits are the most frequently held additional permit for market squid fishermen (Powell et al, 2022) due to their overlapping ranges, and overlapping requirements for gear, vessels, and personnel (Pomeroy et al, 2002). Despite the interconnectedness of these fisheries and the flexibility it historically afforded fishermen, recent closures of the sardine fishery, an overall decrease in market value, and quota reductions now undercut the advantages of having this permit, meaning the most complementary and commonly held additional permit no longer increases flexibility (Powell et al, 2022).…”

“…Furthermore, lobster fishermen do not anticipate net benefits from increasing their range or shifting fishing grounds large distances due to unsuitable habitat and environmental conditions beyond the current range of the fishery in the California Bight. For squid fishermen, however, high mobility is a requirement due to dramatic species range shifts associated with cyclical ENSO-related climate variability (Powell et al, 2022). Recently observed temperature-driven northward shifts in market squid distribution (Chasco et al, 2022) also indicate that fishermen will need to continue to expand their fishing grounds and travel farther up the coast to continue to participate in the squid fishery in the future.…”