framework to assess the vulnerability of California commercial sea urchin fishermen to the impact of MPAs under climate change

• Published in: GeoJournal Vol. 79; no. 6; pp. 755 - 773
• Main Authors: Chen, Cheryl, López-Carr, David, Walker, Barbara Louise Endemaño
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer-Verlag 01.12.2014; Springer; Springer Netherlands; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Analysis; Assessments; California; Climate change; Collaboration; Commercial fishing; Communities; conservation areas; Decision making; Echinoidea; Economic change; Economic conditions; Environmental Management; Estimates; Fish populations; Fisheries; Fisheries management; Fisheries science; Fishermen; Fishers; Fishery economics; Fishing; Fishing communities; Fishing villages; Fishing zones; Geography; Human Geography; Impact analysis; income; livelihood; Management decisions; Marine; Marine conservation; Marine ecology; Marine protected areas; Marine resources; Nature conservation; Ocean fisheries; planning; Populations; Resource management; Sea urchins; Social Sciences; Socioeconomics; Studies; U.S.A; California; United States > US; INE, USA, California; Vulnerability; Marine spatial planning; Fishermen; Marine protected areas; Sea urchin; Adaptive capacity
• ISSN: 0343-2521; 1572-9893
• DOI: 10.1007/s10708-014-9543-0

This paper describes the development of a Livelihood Vulnerability Index (LVI) that estimates the relative ability of California commercial sea urchin fishermen to cope with the change associated with proposed marine protected areas. A key goal in establishing marine protected areas is to maximize conservation benefits while minimizing the potential negative impacts to local fishing communities. However, current impact analyses largely assume a linear relationship between percent of fishing area or revenue lost with the magnitude of impact to fishermen. The LVI described in this paper aims to provide an additional dimension to impact analyses in which the adaptive capacity of individual fishermen is examined to estimate the differential abilities of fishermen to cope with the loss of fishing areas or revenue. This paper advances vulnerability assessments as it develops a novel framework for identifying and measuring drivers of vulnerability for understudied fishing populations whose livelihoods depend upon marine resources. This vulnerability assessment is intended to inform the design of marine protected areas by enabling researchers to incorporate the adaptive capacity of fishermen into socioeconomic impact analyses. The LVI was developed for the California commercial sea urchin fishery in the context of proposed marine protected area networks develop through the California Marine Life Protected Act planning process. As climate change advances there is an increasing need to identify vulnerable and resilient populations and ways to bolster adaptive capacity given the environmental and economic changes ahead.