Gendered dimensions of climate change impacts, adaptive capacity, and resilience in Maine’s coastal fisheries

As coastal fishing communities are positioned on the frontlines of climate change, supporting their adaptation to a changing environment is a high priority. However, the impacts of climate change on fishing communities are not equal; instead, they are shaped by existing social relations, including gender. Women are active in fisheries throughout the food system (i.e., in preharvest, harvest, and  postharvest processing, distribution, and trade activities), but their engagement often diverges from men’s, shaped by sociocultural gender relations, which influence norms of behavior and access to opportunities and resources (Szymkowiak & Rhodes-Reese, 2020). However, gender-blind approaches common in western scientific fisheries management systematically undercount women’s contributions to the sector, leaving their knowledge, experiences, and needs underrepresented in policies that affect them. Where gender is ignored, strategies aimed at building adaptative capacity in fishing communities have the potential to create unintended consequences, potentially deepening inequalities and even contributing to maladaptation (Cinner et al., 2018). For climate change adaptation investments in U.S. fishing communities to be equitable and effective, a better understanding of women’s climate adaptation needs is necessary. 

The proposed project will use oral histories to understand the impacts of the rapidly warming Gulf of Maine on women in fishing communities in the Northeast region. By applying a gender lens, this research aims to improve the understanding of climate change impacts and adaptation in fisheries based food systems to inform the design of more equitable climate adaptation policies in the region with a focus on Maine. Oral histories in the NOAA Voices Oral History Archives and primary data collected by our team (yielding a new collection of 30 oral history interviews with women in the fishing sector) will be coded and analyzed for information on women’s 1) experiences of climate change impacts on their fisheries activities, 2) their response strategies, and 3) their adaptive capacities drawing on Cinner et al.’s (2018) multi-dimensional framework which recognizes the availability of assets, flexibility to change strategies, ability to organize, learning to respond to change, and agency to determine whether to change as underlying conditions shaping adaptation. Based on our results, we will evaluate the Maine Climate Council’s climate adaptation recommendations to identify opportunities to advance equitable adaptation for coastal communities by working with the Council’s Equity Subcommittee. 

This project fulfills CAFA’s Program goals of promoting resilience and adaptation in fishing communities and directly contributes to NOAA’s climate adaptation and mitigation mission goal of an informed society anticipating and responding to climate impacts. Gender differences manifest in participation, status, and access to opportunities in fisheries—differences that decision makers need to consider for climate adaptation investments to be equitable and effective. This project will provide needed scientific information on gendered dimensions of climate impacts in fisheries-based food systems for use by decision-makers. By working with the Maine Climate Council’s Equity Subcommittee, we will leverage upcoming policy windows as the state’s climate action plan is revised in 2024 with a focus on equity. Through a 6-episode podcast series, we will contribute to the goal of an informed society by reporting stories of coastal climate adaptation and resilience. Second, the project contributes to NOAA’s long-term mission goal of resilient coastal communities and economies. Understanding the impacts of climate change on women’s fisheries activities, their adaptation strategies, and innovations can enhance resilience for all, not only male fishermen in certain capture fisheries, and ensure a more equitable fishing economy for the future.