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Impacts of Climate Variability on Latin American Small-scale Fisheries

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Type: Journal Article
Author: Defeo, Omar; Castrejón, Mauricio; Ortega, Leonardo; Kuhn, Angela M.; Gutiérez, Nicolás L.; Castilla, Juan Carlos
Journal: Ecology and Society
Volume: 18
Page(s):
Date: 2013
URI: https://hdl.handle.net/10535/9201
Sector: Fisheries
Region: Central America & Caribbean
South America
Subject(s): resilience
global change
fisheries
climate
Abstract: "Small-scale fisheries (SSFs) are social-ecological systems that play a critical role in terms of food security and poverty alleviation in Latin America. These fisheries are increasingly threatened by anthropogenic and climatic drivers acting at multiple scales. We review the effects of climate variability on Latin American SSFs, and discuss the combined effects of two additional human drivers: globalization of markets and governance. We show drastic long-term and large-scale effects of climate variability, e.g., sea surface temperature anomalies, wind intensity, sea level, and climatic indices, on SSFs. These variables, acting in concert with economic drivers, have exacerbated stock depletion rates in Latin American SSFs. The impact of these drivers varied according to the life cycle and latitudinal distribution of the target species, the characteristics of the oceanographic systems, and the inherent features of the social systems. Our review highlights the urgent need to improve management and governance systems to promote resilience as a way to cope with the increasing uncertainty about the impacts of climate and globalization of markets on Latin American SSFs."

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