Collaborative Research: NNA Research: Rapid Arctic change and its implications for fisheries and fishing communities of the western North Atlantic

Lead PI: Dr. Joaquim I Goes , Helga do Rosario Gomes , Dr. Marco Tedesco

Unit Affiliation: Biology and Paleo Environment, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO)

January 2023 - December 2023
Inactive
North America
Project Type: Research

DESCRIPTION: This research focuses on links between Arctic change and the iconic American lobster (Homarus americanus) fishery, the most valuable single-species fishery in North America, and a well-studied socio-ecological system. As the species’ geographic range shifts northward in a warming ocean, regional dependencies on the fishery will vary. The proposed NNA Collaboratory builds on long-standing cross-sector and crossborder partnerships and draws from the outcomes of two recent, targeted workshops focusing on lobster
fishery climate vulnerability assessment. Our overarching hypothesis is that climate-driven, Arctic change will affect the distribution and abundance of American lobster stocks, and in turn, the fishing industry and coastal communities that depend on them, whose resilience to change will be determined by their access to and use of salient information in their decision-making processes.It will create capacity to evaluate impacts of future environmental change
on fisheries over a range of space and time scales. It also capitalizes on the heterogeneity of economic dependence and resource governance along the coast to advance understanding of the capacity of coastal communities and governance systems to adapt to rapid change in the environment and economy. Data visualization and decision support system products will be accessible to a wide range of stakeholders, following the engagement of decision scientists and a diverse set of stakeholders in their design.

SPONSOR:

National Science foundation (NSF)

EXTERNAL COLLABORATORS:

Richard A Wahle (UMaine), Damian C Brady (UMaine), Joshua Stoll (UMaine), Christine Beitl (UMaine), Katherine Mills, GMRI, Kanae Tokunaga (GMRI), Eric P Chassignet (FSU), Michael R Stukel (FSU), Xiaobiao Xu (FSU), Olmo S Zavala-Romero (FSU),

KEYWORDS

arctic ecosystem coastal adaptation climate adaptation fisheries climate resilience

THEMES

Modeling and Adapting to Future Climate Stewardship of the planet Sustainable living