AbstractsAnthropology

As aquaculture gains prominence as a major economic industry, and as wild-capture fisheries decline, coastal communities on Chiloé Island in southern Chile are facing inevitable social-ecological change. This research provides a cross-sectional, proxy-longitudinal study of indicators of resilience in a coastal community on Chiloé that is undergoing a transformation from small-scale fisheries to wage labor in aquaculture firms. Systematic data collection and analysis revealed that maintaining a high degree of specific resilience indicators is more likely to occur among fishermen who do not become aquaculture employees, and that even higher scores resulted from fishermen who became members of a small-scale, native species aquaculture cooperative. This information can serve as a model for sustainable development strategies and resilience in other coastal communities facing transformations due to changing ecological and economic factors.