Human Dimensions of Fishing

Our Human Dimensions of Fishing Participation and Engagement research can be broken down into the following sub-themes:

Coastal Communities and Well-Being

• ESSRP is working to extend knowledge about coastal community connections to marine ecosystems through work mapping the multifaceted well-being derived from these connections. 
  • Place-based IEA in Sitka
  • Contact: marysia.szymkowiak@noaa.gov 
• Groundtruthing social vulnerability indices of Alaska fishing communities (Lavoie et al. 2018).
• Understanding vulnerability in Alaska fishing communities: A validation methodology for rapid assessment of well-being indices (Himes-Cornell et al. 2016)
• Using Socio-Economic and Fisheries Involvement Indices to Better Understand Alaska Fishing Community Well-being (Himes-Cornell and Kasperski, 2016)
• Social baseline of the Gulf of Alaska groundfish trawl fishery: Results of the 2014 social survey (Himes-Cornell et al. 2015)
• Contact: stephen.kasperski@noaa.gov 

Fisheries Access and Upward Mobility

• An aging fisheries demographic poses concerns for the resilience of the fishing industry and fishing communities in Alaska, as many commercial fishermen are on the cusp of retirement without enough young fishermen willing and able to take their place. ESSR is working on a multifaceted analysis of access and upward mobility into fisheries, including through:
  • Examining the nexus of issues around entry into fishing and farming and the differentiated programs that have been developed within these industries to address these issues.  
    • Building the next generation of U.S. commercial fishermen
    • Fishing and Farming: A Generational Crisis
    • A livelihoods assessment of new entrants within the US fisheries agriculture continuum
  • A duration analysis of upward mobility from crewing to limited entry permit acquisition.
    • Upward mobility in Alaska fisheries: A case study of permit acquisition for crewmembers
  • Analysis of quota share movement patterns across communities and an analysis of halibut quota share acquisition since IFQ implementation through the lens duration, dissimilarity, and network analyses as a factor of income, diversification, and fishing portfolios.
• Contact: marysia.szymkowiak@noaa.gov 

Women in Fisheries

• Women work to keep fisheries sustainable, communities resilient, and traditional knowledge alive in Alaska. Yet women’s work as part of fishing families and communities is often discounted and made invisible. ESSR is exploring women in Alaska’s fisheries through multifaceted research on multi-generational women-led fishing operations in Bristol Bay, extending methodological approaches for examining women’s participation across Alaska’s fisheries, and understanding the roles of women in fishing families and communities. 
  • Exploring Women’s Engagement in 30 Years of Alaska Fisheries
  • Women’s Global Fisheries Participation
  • Voicing the Stories of Women in Alaska Fisheries
• Contact: marysia.szymkowiak@noaa.gov or sarah.wise@noaa.gov 

Community Participation and Engagement Indices

• Originally developed in Colburn and Jepson (2012) and Jepson and Colburn (2013), we have applied these methods to a number of different Alaska fisheries that have been utilized in several NPFMC Social Impact Assessments (SIAs), Environmental Impact Statements (EISs), Environmental Assessments/Regulatory Impact Reviews/Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analyses, and Catch Share Program Reviews. For more information, see Community Commercial Fishing Engagement Indices(link).
• Contact: stephen.kasperski@noaa.gov.

Community Information for Annual TAC Determination: ACEPO and Social Indicators for Coastal Communities

• Annual Community Engagement and Participation Overview (ACEPO)
  • Fishing in Alaska contributes to local and State economies, cultural cohesion, and food security within Alaska and beyond. The hundreds of communities in Alaska involved in commercial, recreational, and subsistence fishing contribute to community wellbeing and economic livelihoods, and support meaningful ways of life for Alaskans. The ACEPO report presents social and economic information for those communities substantially engaged in the commercial FMP groundfish and crab fisheries in Alaska. ACEPO is a community level analysis guided by The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) management objectives and MSA National Standard 8 (NS8). 
  • Contact: sarah.wise@noaa.gov or stephen.kasperski@noaa.gov.
• Social Indicators for Coastal Communities
  • ESSR works with other NMFS social scientists to develop and annually update the Social Indicators for Coastal Communities to allow users to analyze community level fishing engagement and reliance indicators, environmental justice indicators, economic indicators, and gentrification pressure indicators. For more information, see NMFS Social Indicators for Coastal Communities and the Indicator Map.
  • Contact: sarah.wise@noaa.gov or stephen.kasperski@noaa.gov.