A comparative appraisal of the resilience of marine social-ecological systems to mass mortalities of bivalves

Abstract

ABSTRACT. In many parts of the world, both wild and cultured populations of bivalves have been struck by mass mortality episodes because of climatic and anthropogenic stressors whose causes and consequences are not always clearly understood. Such outbreaks have resulted in a range of responses from the social (fishers or farmers) and governing systems. We analyzed six commercial bivalve industries affected by mass mortalities using I-ADApT, a decision support framework to assess the impacts and consequences of these perturbations on the natural, social, and governing systems, and the consequent responses of stakeholders to these events. We propose a multidimensional resilience framework to assess resilience along the natural, social, and governing axes and to compare adaptive responses and their likelihood of success. The social capital and governability of the local communities were key factors affecting the communities' resilience and adaptation to environmental changes, but the rapid degradation of natural ecosystems puts the bivalve industry under a growing threat. Bivalve mariculture and fishing industries are likely to experience increased frequency, severity, and prevalence of such mass mortality events if the resilience of the natural systems is not improved. An understanding of previous adaptation processes can inform strategies for building adaptive capacity to future events.

Adaptation of Fishing Communities to Climate-Driven Shifts in Target Species

“…This effect has been observed in the Uruguayan seafood sector, where increasing imports are leading the sector into an economic crisis. 65 In some cases, impacts can result in the relocation of processing facilities, markets, or fishing vessels. International fish markets have been seen as a buffer to local supply shocks, but reliance on international trade can have negative effects, such as the loss of domestic products and the vulnerability of jobs to price and supply shocks elsewhere.…”

Mortality of marine mussels Mytilus edulis and M. galloprovincialis: systematic literature review of risk factors and recommendations for future research

“…These mass mortalities may reflect a marine disturbance and thus damaged health of the marine coastal ecosystem (Sherman, 2000). Additionally, these recurrent mortalities cause an imbalance in the entire coastal socio‐ecosystem, and stakeholders need to adapt permanently to ensure the sustainability of their socio‐economic activities (Guillotreau et al, 2017). Representative bodies of the shellfish industry often alert the government authorities about these sustainability concerns, asking either for research to be conducted to explain these mass mortality events and to mitigate the outbreaks, or for financial compensation to mitigate their effects on socio‐economic activities.…”

Coastal and Marine Socio-Ecological Systems: A Systematic Review of the Literature

“…Among studies that analyzed both systems relatively equally, we found that Berkes (2011), Broderstad and Eythórsson (2014), Cullen-Unsworth et al (2014), Engie and Quiroga (2014) analyzed the mutual influences of both systems, which can strengthen SES modeling (Davies et al, 2016;Melbourne-Thomas et al, 2017). Others (Glaser et al, 2012;Perry and Masson, 2013;Guillotreau et al, 2017;Hu et al, 2018;Li et al, 2018;Peña-Alonso et al, 2018) used indicators that integrated variables representing the social and ecological systems. For instance, Perry and Masson (2013) constructed indicators identifying changes in large-scale temporal patterns of variability in the Strait of Georgia.…”