Fisheries Managers Acknowledge the Importance of Adaptive Traits but Report Limited Ability to Influence Them

Abstract

Marine fishery management systems are experiencing unprecedented pressure from climate change. Prior research has identified adaptive traits that, when present in a management system, can promote effective responses to these changes and minimise negative outcomes for fish and fishery systems. Understanding the extent to which managers identify these traits as important and actively influencing management can identify gaps and opportunities for putting this theory into practice. To address this, we surveyed 321 fishery management professionals and scientists across all eight U.S. fisheries management regions. Questions focused on 16 adaptive traits related to topics such as systemic flexibility, opportunities for knowledge exchange and agency to act. For each trait, at least 68% of respondents identified the trait as important for supporting adaptation in their region. The two traits relating to fishermen and management's ability to learn and innovate were the most widely identified as important for adaptation. However, when asked about the role of management in influencing these traits, positive perceptions dropped by about 20% (at most 44% agreement per trait). Perceived importance and influence of adaptive traits significantly varied by the education level of survey respondents, with higher education levels correlating with higher perceived trait importance. Mapping this mismatch between perceived importance of adaptive traits and the ability of management to address them provides a blueprint for areas where a shared understanding of climate-ready fishery goals would benefit both fishermen and regulators under future change.