Gulf of Alaska | Humans MASTER’S POSTER PRESENTATION Stewardship, advocacy, and knowledge in Juneau-area fisheries Presenter: Emma Scalisi , escalisi@uw.edu Anne Beaudreau , annebeau@uw.edu, University of Washington Ellie Mason , elliem7@uw.edu, University of Washington
Local environmental stewardship has been recognized as an important component in building adaptive capacity of fisheries and fishing communities facing myriad threats and stressors from global climate change. Stewardship actions of resource users can serve to both provide environmental protection, as well as ensure continued use of and access to resources by coastal communities. In Southeast Alaska, where commercial fishing plays a key role in cultures and economies, concerns for the continued viability of local fisheries have arisen from declines in salmon returns, increasing fuel costs, and barriers to participation for young fishers, among other issues. In this study, we aimed to understand the existing and potential pathways for stewardship actions of small-boat commercial fishers in Juneau, Alaska. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 15 commercial fishers, agency staff, and leaders of seafood associations to 1) document fisher-led stewardship actions and ways that fishers engage formally and informally with local management, and 2) explore the role of fishery management agencies in facilitating collaboration and communication with fishers in the Juneau area. We used an integrative analytical framework for local environmental stewardship developed by Bennett et al. (2018) to explore the social-ecological context and outcomes of stewardship by fisheries participants in the Juneau area. We found that a number of pathways for stewardship efforts exist in commercial salmon and shellfish fisheries, including formal and informal interactions with Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) staff, participation in Advisory Council (AC) meetings, proposing, commenting or participating in Alaska Board of Fisheries (BOF) meetings, participating in fishing associations and advocacy organizations, sharing ideas with fellow commercial fishers, and taking personal conservation actions to care for fisheries. We identified areas of relatively low social, financial, and institutional capital that may limit the effectiveness of these stewardship actions for some participants. Additionally, our findings highlight diverse perspectives of fishery participants on how these stewardship actions might be better supported through policies, leadership, and collaboration.
Alaska Marine Science Symposium 2023 296
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