We will identify the non-monetary, social and cultural impacts of harmful algal blooms on the U.S. West Coast across different stakeholder communities.
Why We Care
Harmful algal blooms (HABs) are increasing along the West Coast of the United States, and coastal managers are seeking options to mitigate HAB-related impacts to human and wildlife communities. While some research has explored the economic impacts of these events on certain fisheries, there has been limited research on the non-monetary, social and cultural impacts experienced through losing opportunities for consumption, losing opportunities for non-consumptive activities, and witnessing distressing impacts on wildlife.
What We Are Doing
This project will explore a variety of social and cultural impacts of HAB events on the West Coast across different stakeholder and rightsholder groups by thoroughly characterizing sociocultural impacts of HABs in non-monetary terms via a suite of methods, including: in-person and remote surveys, interviews, focus groups, and use of social media data. We will primarily explore three impacts of HABs: disruptions to shellfish harvesting, loss of non-consumptive activities, and how HAB-caused wildlife mortality impacts people. The research will be conducted across two sites, Washington’s Puget Sound and Southern California. This variety of study topics and sites allows us to acquire a rich, multi-faceted understanding of why and how HABs matter in different contexts.
Benefits of Our Work
Project results will help communities and resource managers summarize the social and cultural impacts across diverse people, the project will also provide a toolkit of data collection protocols that can be modified and implemented in other regions.
The project is led by Kelly Biedenweg at Oregon State University, in collaboration with Dan Reineman at California State University Channel Islands, and Rachelle Gould at the University of Vermont and is funded by the NCCOS Social, Cultural, and Economic Assessment of Harmful Algal Blooms (SEAHAB) program.