Adaptation in a time of stress: A social-ecological perspective on changing fishing strategies in the Canadian snow crab fishery

Recent scholarship has focused attention on the dynamics and management of marine social ecological systems and on the need for developing a deeper understanding of the fishing strategies of fish harvesters. This includes an understanding of how a broad range of factors influence the strategies of those at the 'center' of marine social-ecological interactions. This paper reports on the findings of a survey of snow crab (Chionoecetes opilio) fishers in Southeastern Labrador conducted at a time (2005) of significant stress in the fishery. Results highlight that snow crab fishers are embedded in a social-ecological system and that shifts in fishing strategies in times of stress are a product of adapting to a dynamic, interactive set of factors that have social, economic, ecological and management aspects. Important differences between fleet sectors (larger and smaller vessels) as well as processes of learning are also described. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications for management and the utility of a holistic social-ecological perspective.