This session invites contributions related to the impacts of climate change on fisheries production and the operationalization of resilience management. We examine, review and discuss how impacts of climate change influence resistance, recovery, and robustness (the three Rs) and the performance of marine social-ecological systems over time. The ultimate goal of the session is to bridge the gap between resilience theory/principles and the actual practice of fisheries management.
We welcome contributions related, but not limited to the following questions:
- What are the ecological and socio-economic impacts of climate change on the fisheries sector?
- What aspects (system, system components, or interactions) of resilience are being managed?
- What are the methods and metrics used to measure resilience?
- How are the three Rs measured in relation to system performance and in response to climate change?
- What are the expected net benefits, currently and over time and space, of resilience-management actions?
Background
Resilience studies and analysis help to understand how climate change impacts affect marine ecosystems, fishers, farms and governments’ decisions. Conceptual frameworks, methodologies and tools are rapidly advancing. This theme session provides an opportunity to take stock of the latest advances in the operationalization of resilience into the decision making processes in dealing with climate change impacts. Scientific and policy advances will be reviewed, discussed and shared between participants for assessing resilience and communicating uncertainties.
Climate change is having significant impacts on marine ecosystems, fishers, enterprises, national economies, and the well-being of coastal communities. The variety of mechanisms involved, the complexity of social-ecological interactions, the possibility of abrupt and surprising changes, and the diversity of benefits (e.g., food, regulation, recreation) provided by marine ecosystems make the consequences of climate change difficult to predict.
The increasing popularity and reference to a resilience framework contrasts with a lack of clarity over practical advice on its implementation, especially in the context of marine social-ecological systems. Even after decades of research and policy engagement to advance the understanding of resilience and calls for its better integration into decision-making, resilience management of social-ecological systems is still not widely adopted. Building on existing literature, we characterize resilience management as the combination of planning, adaptation, and transformation actions intended to influence the resistance, recovery, and robustness (the three Rs) of marine social-ecological systems under consideration.
Given the increasing recognition of the importance of ocean benefits to human well-being and the increasing evidence of the impacts of climate change on fisheries production, there is a need to develop practical recommendations for extending adaptive management to include consideration of how management strategies affect the resilience of marine social-ecological systems.
