Fishers’ response to temperature change reveals the importance of integrating human behavior in climate change analysis

Keywords: small scale fisheries, food security, Cambodia
Session Type: Virtual Paper Abstract
Day: Monday
Session Start / End Time: 2/28/2022 09:40 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 2/28/2022 11:00 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 38

Abstract

Climate change will reshape ecological dynamics. Yet, how temperature increases alter the behavior and resource use of people reliant on natural resources remains underexplored. Consequent behavior shifts have the potential to mitigate or accelerate climate impacts on livelihoods and food security. Particularly within the small-scale inland fisheries, temperature changes likely affect both fish and fishers. To analyze how changing temperatures alter households’ fishing behavior, we examined fishing effort and fish catch in Cambodia's rice field fisheries. We used longitudinal observational data from households in Cambodia, which has the highest per-capita consumption of inland fish in the world. Higher temperatures caused households to reduce their participation in fishing but had limited net effects on fish catch. Within this context, households participate in a suite of activities, such as fishing, rice production, and wage labor, all of which may be impacted by climate change yet in different ways. This interplay in household livelihoods and climate impacts means that both direct and indirect impacts of temperature may shift food production activities. Incorporating human behavioral responses to changing environmental conditions will be fundamental to determining how climate change affects rural livelihoods, food production, and food access.