ABSTRACT. Restoration of coastal ecosystems provides opportunities to simultaneously restore historical fisheries and ancillary ecosystem and social benefits that were historically derived from functioning ecosystems. In Maine, dam removal and other ecosystem restoration efforts have positively impacted anadromous fish, with local populations of alewives (Alosa pseudoharengus) rapidly recovering to near historical population abundances in some locations. This research investigates the social benefits conferred by the restoration of habitat connectivity, fish populations, and local small-scale fisheries. Using municipal fisheries data and interviews with stakeholders in coastal Maine, it describes a suite of both direct and indirect benefits: a reversal of the "shifting baselines syndrome" and a motivation to manage fisheries sustainably, diversification of local economies and fisheries, community building and an increased sense of local pride, a demographic broadening of the conservation community, and enhanced ecosystem services and recreational opportunities. As well, it identifies a positive feedback between economic benefits and other social benefits, with revenue earned from alewife fisheries enhancing community engagement and providing motivation for further restoration. Placing ecological restoration efforts into this larger social context-rather than simply evaluating them based on immediate economic benefits-provides a broader framework to assess overall societal benefits derived from restoration efforts.

Coastal ecosystems have been degraded by human activity over centuries, with loss of memory about past states resulting in shifted baselines. More recently conservation efforts have resulted in localized recoveries of species and ecosystems. Given the dynamism of ecosystem degradation and recovery, understanding how communities perceive long-term and recent changes is important for developing and implementing conservation measures. We interviewed stakeholders on three Caribbean islands and identified a shifted baseline with respect to the extent and degree of long-term declines in marine animal populations; stakeholders with more experience identified more species as depleted and key species as less abundant than those with less experience. Notably, the average respondent with < 15 years of experience listed no species as depleted despite clear evidence of declines. We also identified a phenomenon we call the policy placebo effect, in which interviewees perceived some animal populations as recently recovering following passage of new conservation legislation but in the absence of evidence for actual recovery. Although shifted baselines have a negative effect on conservation as they can lower recovery goals, the outcomes of a policy placebo effect are unclear. If the public prematurely perceives recovery, motivation for continued conservation could decline. Alternatively, perception of rapid success could lead communities to set more ambitious conservation goals.