Applying national community social vulnerability indicators to fishing communities in the Pacific Island Region

"The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. ʹ 1801 - 1891 (d)) requires regional fisheries management councils and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), in the context of proposed management measures, to consider potential effects of proposed management measures upon fishermen and fishing communities and: "[T]ake into account the importance of fishery resources to fishing communities by utilizing economic and social data...to provide for the sustained participation of such communities, and...to the extent practicable, minimize adverse economic impacts on such communities" (16 U.S.C. ʹ 1851(a)(8)). Fishery management plans must also consider fairness and equity in conservation and management measures such that "no particular individual, corporation, or other entity acquires an excessive share of [fishing] privileges" or impacts (16 U.S.C. ʹ 1851(a) (4)). Social impact assessment is one tool used to compare management measures and inform decisions about fisheries management; however, this type of assessment addresses only the issue being examined and commonly misses "a nuanced representation of fishery systems' dynamics, including how impacts arise from multiple stresses and pressures" (Tuler et al., 2008). Social indicators derived from secondary data can complement social impact analysis and provide a broader measurement of a community that may be affected by changing conditions in social and ecological systems connected to those communities"--Introduction. [doi:10.7289/V5/TM-PIFSC-65 (https://doi.org/10.7289/V5/TM-PIFSC-65)] Danika Kleiber, Dawn Kotowicz, Justin Hospital. "January 2018." Includes bibliographical references (pages 38-42). 2018 NMFS (National Marine Fisheries Service) PIFSC (Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center) Submitted http://doi.org/10.7289/V5/TM-PIFSC-65 Public Domain 1864