Enabling small-scale fisheries to thrive despite climate and economic change
Name of applicant
Sieme Bossier
Title
Postdoctoral Fellow
Institution
Technical University of Denmark
Amount
DKK 1,840,205
Year
2025
Type of grant
Reintegration Fellowships
What?
Small-scale fisheries (SSFs) are in decline in Denmark, and with the speed and scale of current accumulated pressures (climate change, pollution, catch share programs, ...), they will need the correct support to adapt. This proposal seeks to find out what enabling conditions allow them to continue fishing and how external partners (government, NGOs, …) can support them to create resilient SSFs.
Why?
SSFs play an important role as a sustainable fishery bringing social and cultural value to the local fishing communities (e.g. pickled herring on smørrebrød, a cultural icon) and they have a smaller environmental footprint. They are historically marginalized and their importance for food security, providing employment for coastal communities and social and economic relationships are often overlooked.
How?
I will learn from the past to create a better future. I will first assess how fishing management systems support SSFs' adaptations. I will then use a systems thinking approach to recognise interconnectedness and patterns of complex systems in combination with surveys and interviews. Finally, I will apply my adaptation framework to create a roadmap for decision makers to support SSFs meaningfully.