Adaptation and maladaptation: factors that influence the resilience of four Alaskan fisheries governed by durable entitlements

Abstract

Abstract Criddle, K. R. 2012. Adaptation and maladaptation: factors that influence the resilience of four Alaskan fisheries governed by durable entitlements. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 69: . Sustainability of fisheries and fishery-dependent communities depends largely on the intrinsic characteristics of social, economic, and legal systems that determine who is allowed to fish and how fishing takes place. That is, fisheries sustainability is not a biological problem, it is a social problem. Social factors that contribute to or detract from sustainability are illustrated in four Alaskan fisheries as they have evolved over time. Each fishery has come to be managed under durable entitlements (DEs) in terms of their participation. DE programmes, such as limited entry permits and individual or community fishing quotas, can increase profitability and help fishers adapt to modest adverse changes in stock abundance, ex-vessel prices, or input costs, but the design characteristics of some DE programmes makes them vulnerable to larger perturbations. Moreover, although DE programmes increase choice and therefore resilience from the perspective of individuals, they can increase or decrease the resilience of fishery-dependent communities.