Enhancing The Adaptive Capacity of Fisheries to Climate Change

In this paper, researchers explore how well academic theory on adaptive capacity in fisheries management aligns with the practical needs and priorities of fishery professionals. Despite growing theoretical research on adapting to climate change, there is uncertainty about its real-world applicability and integration into decision-making. Through semi-structured interviews with U.S. federal fishery managers and scientists, the study identifies three actionable steps to bridge this gap:

1. clearly differentiate adaptive capacity from adaptive management,
2. incorporate practitioner insights to align adaptive capacity concepts with governance constraints and opportunities, and
3. tailor academic research to consider the timing and scale of systemic changes.

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Reference

Golden, A.S., Levine, A., Baskett, M.L., Holland, D., Mills, K.E., Vogel, J.M., Essington, T. (2024) Enhancing the adaptive capacity of fisheries to climate change: Bridging academic theory and management practice through practitioner interviews. Marine Policy. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2024.106321