Abstract

This study explores the growing impact of coastal displacement on small-scale fishers’ livelihoods and resource access in Culebra, Puerto Rico, a community deeply intertwined with traditional fishing practices. Increasingly, these practices are disrupted by economic, environmental, and social pressures driven by tourism and real estate development. Coastal displacement, largely fueled by short-term rental platforms such as Airbnb, has transformed the real estate market in Culebra, pushing property values higher and leading to a significant privatization of coastal spaces. This process is symptomatic of what is described as a new “gentrification battlefront” in tourist destinations (Cócola-Gant, 2016), where the proliferation of vacation rentals displaces residents and limits access to communal resources. In Culebra, these dynamics directly affect the fishing community, which is already vulnerable due to its reliance on small-scale, often seasonal fishing activities. Through qualitative interviews with local fisherfolk and residents and spatial analyses of coastal access points, this research investigates the specific barriers to seafood accessibility in Culebra.

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