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Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Ambio

Assessing social–ecological feedbacks in small-scale fisheries

  • Leandro Castello1
  • Adriana Guimarães Abreu2
  • George Christopher Brooks1,3
  • João Vitor Campos-Silva4
  • Priscila dos Reis Cunha1
  • Ayan Santos Fleischmann5
  • Caetano Lucas Borges Franco6,5
  • Ana Claudia Gonçalves5
  • Emma Ann Hultin1
  • Holly Kathleen Kindsvater1
  • Eduardo Guimarães Martins7
  • Cristina Isis Buck Silva8
2 more authors
  • Michael G. Sorice6
  • Eduardo Sonnewend Brondizio2
8 affiliations
  1. 1Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA USA
  2. 2Department of Anthropology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN USA
  3. 3Present Address: Center for Limnology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, USA
  4. 4INPA, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Instituto Juruá, Manaus, Amazonas Brazil
  5. 5Mamirauá Sustainable Development Institute, Tefé, Amazonas Brazil
  6. 6Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, USA
  7. 7Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, BC Canada
  8. 8Instituto de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas, Campinas, Brazil
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Abstract

Assessment frameworks do not capture the complexity of the social–ecological dynamics of small-scale fisheries (SSF), which support millions of livelihoods yet face persistent sustainability challenges. Reciprocal feedbacks between fish populations and fishers that are central to sustainability remain insufficiently integrated into assessment approaches because conventional fisheries management emphasizes population dynamics, whereas social–ecological systems research focuses on social drivers and faces operational challenges. We propose an integrative diagnostic approach that explicitly links fish population dynamics with theories of fisher behavior and governance. We illustrate its application using co-managed arapaima fisheries in the Amazon Basin, where sustainability emerges from multi-scalar social and ecological interactions. By capturing these feedbacks, the approach bridges ecological and social dimensions to identify key drivers of sustainability. It provides a replicable, interdisciplinary framework for diagnosing SSF sustainability and identifying leverage points to support adaptive governance across diverse contexts.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{castello2026assessing,
  title = {{Assessing social–ecological feedbacks in small-scale fisheries}},
  author = {Leandro Castello and Adriana Guimarães Abreu and George Christopher Brooks and João Vitor Campos-Silva and Priscila dos Reis Cunha and Ayan Santos Fleischmann and Caetano Lucas Borges Franco and Ana Claudia Gonçalves and Emma Ann Hultin and Holly Kathleen Kindsvater and Eduardo Guimarães Martins and Cristina Isis Buck Silva and Michael G. Sorice and Eduardo Sonnewend Brondizio},
  journal = {Ambio},
  year = {2026},
  month = may,
  doi = {10.1007/s13280-026-02407-w},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-026-02407-w},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Assessing social–ecological feedbacks in small-scale fisheries
AU  - Leandro Castello
AU  - Adriana Guimarães Abreu
AU  - George Christopher Brooks
AU  - João Vitor Campos-Silva
AU  - Priscila dos Reis Cunha
AU  - Ayan Santos Fleischmann
AU  - Caetano Lucas Borges Franco
AU  - Ana Claudia Gonçalves
AU  - Emma Ann Hultin
AU  - Holly Kathleen Kindsvater
AU  - Eduardo Guimarães Martins
AU  - Cristina Isis Buck Silva
AU  - Michael G. Sorice
AU  - Eduardo Sonnewend Brondizio
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/05/14
JO  - Ambio
DO  - 10.1007/s13280-026-02407-w
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-026-02407-w
AB  - Assessment frameworks do not capture the complexity of the social–ecological dynamics of small-scale fisheries (SSF), which support millions of livelihoods yet face persistent sustainability challenges. Reciprocal feedbacks between fish populations and fishers that are central to sustainability remain insufficiently integrated into assessment approaches because conventional fisheries management emphasizes population dynamics, whereas social–ecological systems research focuses on social drivers and faces operational challenges. We propose an integrative diagnostic approach that explicitly links fish population dynamics with theories of fisher behavior and governance. We illustrate its application using co-managed arapaima fisheries in the Amazon Basin, where sustainability emerges from multi-scalar social and ecological interactions. By capturing these feedbacks, the approach bridges ecological and social dimensions to identify key drivers of sustainability. It provides a replicable, interdisciplinary framework for diagnosing SSF sustainability and identifying leverage points to support adaptive governance across diverse contexts.
SN  - 0044-7447
SN  - 1654-7209
ER  -