Abstract

This project evaluates the cumulative impacts of socio-demographic changes (ex. population growth), macroeconomic conditions (ex. fuel prices, cost of living, housing values, etc.), environmental management decisions (ex. marine managed areas, species protection measures, etc.), and natural events (ex. hurricanes, coral bleaching, etc.) on the commercial fisheries and fishing communities in the Florida Keys. Taking a mainly historical approach, the main argument of the analysis is that non-fishery factors have had significant impacts on the region’s commercial fisheries and, in many cases, have been equally or more determinative of the commercial fisher participation and fishery performance than have traditional, fishery management measures. That is, non-fishery factors have in some cases acted synergistically with fishery management in providing positive outcomes, but in other cases such factors have worked antagonistically with fishery management and have led to negative outcomes. As fishery management under the Magnuson-Stevens Act moves towards sustaining fishery stocks (National Standard 2) and preserving fishing communities (National Standard 8), a broadened, historical approach as utilized in this project is important in both predicting outcomes and improving management.

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