The Metacoupling Framework Informs Stream Salmonid Management and Governance

Abstract

Stream salmonid fisheries are ecologically and socioeconomically important at local to global scales throughout the world. Although these fisheries are interacting systems of biota, habitats, and humans, systematic social-ecological integration across space and time is scarce. However, theoretical and methodological advancements in the study of coupled human and natural systems (CHANS) offer new insights for stream salmonid research, management, and policymaking. The metacoupling framework is a novel tool for studying and managing social-ecological linkages that occur within stream salmonid fisheries as well as between adjacent and distant fisheries (i.e., metacouplings). For instance, coldwater streams containing brook charr (Salvelinus fontinalis) and brown trout (Salmo trutta) in Michigan, United States, encompass metacoupled movements of water, information, fish, people, and money throughout CHANS that provide drinking water, recreational fisheries, and employment. However, groundwater withdrawal is altering stream hydrology and causing public controversy over how hydrological changes affect salmonid populations and thermal habitats. Using this complex socialecological scenario as a case study, we describe the utility of the metacoupling framework for fisheries systems analysis and demonstrate how this approach promotes metacoupled governance-management of relationships among metacoupled systems rather than specific physical places alone-to better sustain stream salmonid fisheries locally, regionally, and globally. Overall, stream salmonid science and management can be enhanced by using the metacoupling framework to synthesize social and ecological information, characterize cross-scalar tradeoffs and feedbacks, understand stakeholder diversity, and ultimately develop metacoupling-informed policies that promote socially and ecologically desirable outcomes.

Fisheries Volume 45 Number 5 May 2020

“…For example, Michigan coldwater streams containing Brook Trout Salvelinus fontinalis and Brown Trout Salmo trutta are affected by fl ows of water, information, fi sh, people, and money within and between CHANS; these metacouplings provide drinking water, recreational fi sheries, and employment for thousands of people locally, regionally, and throughout the state of Michigan. Nestlé water bottling facilities generate county-level contributions (intracouplings) of 284 jobs and $24.2 million in total economic activity (PSC 2017 ;Carlson et al 2020 ). Contributions in the fi ve-county region (pericouplings) and across Michigan (telecouplings) amount to 634 jobs/$71.9 million and 1,273 jobs/$235.0 million, respectively.…”

“…Contributions in the fi ve-county region (pericouplings) and across Michigan (telecouplings) amount to 634 jobs/$71.9 million and 1,273 jobs/$235.0 million, respectively. However, Nestlé ' s groundwater withdrawal operations alter stream hydrology and cause social consequences, including staunch disapproval of-and protests by-anglers and landowners who experience reduced water levels, trout abundance, and angling quality in streams where groundwater is extracted (Carlson et al 2020 ). Overall, recreational fi sheries management can be improved by using the metacoupling framework to integrate human and environmental information, evaluate resource-user diversity, and create metacoupling-informed management programs that promote socially and ecologically desirable outcomes across scales.…”

“…We also recommend concluding interdisciplinary fora with panel discussions, collaborative manuscripts, and related activities that tangibly advance CHANS knowledge. Such advancements can provide answers to pressing questions in fi sheries/wildlife research and management, including how social-ecological interactions infl uence the success of population augmentation and habitat rehabilitation initiatives, the effi cacy of public outreach campaigns, the effectiveness of climate-adaptive resource management, and other important elements of conservation (Johnson et al 2015 ;Denny and Fanning 2016 ;Hulina et al 2017 ;Carlson et al 2019Carlson et al , 2020. Overall, substantial strides in CHANS science and management in recent years have exposed deeper, more complex, and more interdisciplinary challenges than those originally imagined.…”

A Social–Ecological Odyssey in Fisheries and Wildlife Management

“…Nestlé water bottling facilities generate county‐level contributions (intracouplings) of 284 jobs and $24.2 million in total economic activity (PSC ; Carlson et al. ). Contributions in the five‐county region (pericouplings) and across Michigan (telecouplings) amount to 634 jobs/$71.9 million and 1,273 jobs/$235.0 million, respectively.…”

“…However, Nestlé's groundwater withdrawal operations alter stream hydrology and cause social consequences, including staunch disapproval of—and protests by—anglers and landowners who experience reduced water levels, trout abundance, and angling quality in streams where groundwater is extracted (Carlson et al. ). Overall, recreational fisheries management can be improved by using the metacoupling framework to integrate human and environmental information, evaluate resource‐user diversity, and create metacoupling‐informed management programs that promote socially and ecologically desirable outcomes across scales.…”