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Global change is threatening the production and livelihoods of millions of smallholders. The capacity of smallholders to deal with such changes is influenced by the increasingly complex trade networks that connect them to local and global markets. Moreover, the social relationships (e.g., trust, reciprocity) in which these trade networks are embedded likely influence smallholders' capacity to respond to change. However, the prevalence and influence of such "social embeddedness" of trading across different fisheries and agricultural small-scale food systems is still largely unknown. Here, we characterize the social embeddedness of trade networks in small-scale food systems across different production and institutional contexts. We then explore how actors in small-scale food systems could respond to environmental changes in relation to their existing trade networks. We used a methodology based on the qualitative comparison of three different case studies of small-scale fisheries and agriculture in Mexico and South Africa. We analyzed and compared expert interviews among case studies and against the backdrop of embeddedness theory and a previous empirical study. We found key similarities in the level of social embeddedness of trade networks across cases. For example, business relationships characterized by stability and trust prevailed, whereby smallholders are often interdependent through networks of connected traders. There were also differences across cases, such as the higher formalization of business relationships in the agricultural cases, and the influence of institutional and country-specific factors on trade structures. Actors mostly responded to environmental change based on their existing trade networks, although these networks were also subject to change. The findings allowed us to propose more detailed hypotheses outlining how social embeddedness in trade networks play different roles in responding to environmental changes. These hypotheses aim to inspire future research toward the improved understanding of trade networks' influence on small-scale food systems' resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Local and regional trade networks in small-scale fisheries are important for food security and livelihoods across the world. Such networks consist of both economic flows and social relationships, which connect different production regions to different types of fish demand. The structure of such trade networks, and the actions that take place within them (e.g., people fishing, buying, selling), can influence the capacity of small-scale fisheries to provide sufficient fish in a changing social and ecological context. In this study, we aim to understand the importance of networks between different types of traders that access spatially-distinct fish stocks for the availability and variability of fish provision. We deployed a mixed-methods approach, combining agent-based modelling, network analysis and qualitative data from a small-scale fishery in Baja California Sur, Mexico. The empirical data allowed us to investigate the trade processes that occur within trade networks; and the generation of distinct, empirically-informed network structures. Formalized in an agent-based model, these network structures enable analysis of how different trade networks affect the dynamics of fish provision and the exploitation level of fish stocks. Model results reveal how trade strategies based on social relationships and species diversification can lead to spillover effects between fish species and fishing regions. We found that the proportion of different trader types and their spatial connectivity have the potential to increase fish provision. However, they can also increase overexploitation depending on the specific connectivity patterns and trader types. Moreover, increasing connectivity generally leads to positive outcomes for some individual traders, but this does not necessarily imply better outcomes at the system level. Overall, our model provides an empirically-grounded, stylized representation of a fisheries trading system, and reveals important trade-offs that should be considered when evaluating the potential effect of future changes in regional trade networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A social-ecological network model (panels a and b) allowed to map the diversification strategies of small-scale fisheries actors consisting on switching their target species within one region or between landing regions (i.e., spatial diversification, requiring the spatial displacement or mobility of fisheries actors). We analyzed changes in diversification strategies from 2008 to 2016 in Baja California Sur, Mexico, which included a moderate La Niña event characterized by colder sea surface temperatures (2011) and a strong El Niño characterized by warmer sea surface temperatures (2015). We found that even if species diversification within one region is more prevalent than spatial diversification, inter-anual changes in spatial diversification are, correlated with oceanographic changes. However, the diversification patterns differ between landing regions (e.g., panels c and d) and between species targeted. We investigate these differences in light of the characteristics of species groups and existing literature, and provide hypotheses regarding the environmental and institutional factors that may influence the observed diversification patterns. Overall, our novel social-ecological network model proved useful to understand multi-species diversification patterns across time and space. We shed light into the dynamics and structures of small-scale fisheries' diversification patterns that are increasingly important in the current era of global change. • We use social-ecological networks to analyze diversification strategies over time. • We analyze spatial and species diversification in tandem. • Changes in spatial diversification are correlated with oceanographic changes. • Institutional factors may constrain or enable spatial diversification. • Management needs to account for spatial diversification in a changing climate. Small-scale fisheries' actors increasingly face new challenges, including climate driven shifts in marine resource distribution and productivity. Diversification of target species and fishing locations is a key mechanism to adapt to such changes and maintain fisheries livelihoods. Here we explore environmental and institutional factors mediating how patterns of spatial diversification (i.e., utilization of alternative fishing grounds) and target species diversification change over time. Using small-scale fisheries in Baja California Sur (Mexico) as a case study, we adopt a social-ecological network approach to conduct a spatially explicit analysis of fisheries landings data (2008–2016). This approach quantifies relative patterns of diversification, and when combined with a qualitative analysis of existing literature, enables us to illuminate institutional and environmental factors that may influence diversification strategies. Our results indicate that interannual changes in spatial diversification are correlated with regional oceanographic change, while illustrating the heterogeneity and dynamism of diversification strategies. Rather than acting in isolation, we hypothesize that environmental drivers likely operate in combination with existing fisheries regulations and local socioeconomic context to mediate spatial diversification. We argue that small-scale fisheries policies need to better account such linkages as we move towards an increasingly variable environment. Overall, our results highlight spatial diversification as a dynamic process and constitute an important step towards understanding and managing the complex mechanisms through which environmental changes affect small-scale fisheries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The importance of understanding how social-ecological interdependencies deriving from global trade influence sustainability has been argued for decades. Even if substantial progress has been made, a research gap remains regarding how the adaptability of small-scale fish buyers, whose daily operations have implications for the livelihood of more than 100 million people, are affected by networks of trade relationships. Adaptability is here defined as fish buyers´ abilities to adapt using their relationships with others. We elaborate how these capacities relate to the precise patterns in which a fish buyer is entangled with other fish buyers, with the fishers, and with the targeted fish species, by combining a multilevel social-ecological network model with empirical data from a small-scale fishery in Mexico. Further, we also identify types of fish buyers distinguishable by how they operate, and how they are embedded in the trading network. Our results suggest that adaptability differs substantially amongst these types, thus implying that fish buyers' abilities to respond to changes are unevenly distributed. This study demonstrates the need for a more profound understanding of the consequences of the different ways in which fish buyers operate commercially, and how these operations are affected by patterns of social and social-ecological interdependencies. A multi-level network model explicates trade relationships amongst fish buyers and between fish buyers, fishers, and fish resources. We use this model to conceptualize fish buyer's adaptive capacity defined by three dimensions: adaptive capacity in relation to other buyers, in relation to fishers, and in relation to fish resource fluctuations. In combining network measures with qualitative insights, we characterized five types of fish buyers based on their pattern of relationships with other fish buyers, and how they are connected with fishers and with different types of market demand. The results suggest that each type of fish buyer has different capacities to adapt to changes, which can have potential implication for small-scale fisheries sustainability. Unlabelled Image • Trade involves fish exchange embedded in social relationships. • We disentangle patterns of fish trade relationships in a small-scale fishery. • We define five types of fish buyers with three distinct functions. • Fish buyer's types can be associated with different capacities to adapt to changes. • Fish buyer's types may influence fishing patterns and trade differently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biodiversity conservation is often limited by inadequate investments in monitoring and enforcement. However, monitoring and enforcement problems may be overcome by encouraging resource users to develop, endorse, and subsequently enforce conservation regulations. In this article, we draw upon the literature on common‐pool resources and social networks to assess the impacts of participation and network ties on the decisions of fishers to voluntarily report rule violations in two Jamaican marine reserves. Data was collected using questionnaires administered through personal interviews with fishers (n = 277). The results suggest that local fishers are more likely to report illegal fishing if they had participated in conservation planning and if they are directly linked to community‐based wardens in information sharing networks. This research extends well‐established findings regarding the role and impacts of participation on biodiversity conservation by highlighting the importance of synergies between participation and social networks for voluntary monitoring of conservation regulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary As concerns about anthropogenically driven marine resource decline continue, rights-based approaches to fisheries governance have gained attention. Territorial User Rights (TURF) is one example increasingly promoted to enhancing sustainability of small-scale fisheries. Despite rising global interest empirical inquiry into the factors contributing to TURF outcomes remains limited and focus has centered on the ecological and fisheries outcomes, largely neglecting documentation of social consequences and social determinants of success. This paper aims to move the theoretical and empirical work on the role of social capital and leadership in natural resource governance (particularly fisheries) forward by deepening the discussion around the conceptualization and operationalization of social capital. We also extend empirical work on TURF performance by examining multiple social and ecological outcomes. We put forth four theoretically informed propositions about the relationship between key explanatory variables and outcomes. Using empirical data from six Chilean Territorial User Rights areas we provide an early assessment of the validity of these propositions using a case comparative approach, and test their usefulness in operationalizing and analyzing such multifaceted data. Findings show that social capital may not be a useful predictor of success, while the presence of engaged leadership and agreement among members around sanctions appears more closely linked to performance across all social and ecological outcome variables. A key finding is that the use of social capital as a broad term encompassing multiple pro-social variables may not be a fruitful way forward for improving our understanding of the determinants of success in resource management. Instead results indicate that leadership interacts with specific aspects of what is generally referred to as social capital to affect outcomes. To allow theoretical refinement and hypotheses testing regarding determinants of governance outcomes we suggest the social processes measured under the broad umbrella of social capital should be kept separate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]