Building stewardship capacity through fishers’ knowledge and advocacy in fisheries management: a case study from Southeast Alaska

Local environmental stewardship supports resilience of social-ecological systems through a wide range of actions that benefit both environmental and human wellbeing. Stewardship actions of harvesters have been recognized as an important component in building adaptive capacity of coastal fisheries undergoing change. In Southeast Alaska, where commercial fishing plays a key role in cultures and economies, concerns for local fisheries have arisen from declines in salmon returns, high price variability, and barriers to participation, among other issues. Here, we aimed to understand existing and potential pathways for stewardship actions of small-boat commercial fishers in Juneau, Alaska. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 22 commercial fishers, agency staff, and leaders of seafood associations to document fisher-led stewardship actions and ways that small-boat commercial fishers engage formally and informally with local management, explore the role of fishery management agencies in facilitating collaboration and communication with fishers in the Juneau area, and understand local perspectives on how the stewardship capacities of the fishery system can be better supported. We found that multiple pathways for stewardship exist in commercial salmon and shellfish fisheries, including formal and informal interactions with state fishery management staff and decision-makers, participation in fishing associations and advocacy organizations, knowledge sharing among 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. Our findings highlight diverse perspectives of fishery participants on how these stewardship actions might be better supported through policy, advocacy, and collaboration.