Cultivating solutions: oyster farmers’ responses to environmental change in British Columbia

• Main Author: Mallows, Catriona Joelle
• Other Authors: Shaw, Karena
• Format: Others
• Language: English; en
• Published: 2021
• Subjects: community; climate change; resilience; ethnography; aquaculture; British Columbia; coastal communities; oyster farming; change
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1828/13001

Climate change is already impacting many coastal ecosystems and the communities that depend upon them. Efforts to mitigate and adapt to it will likely further strain these socio-ecological systems. This points to the need for research that explores the socio-ecological dynamics of environmental change, in order to better understand how community resilience can best be supported during a period of rapid global environmental change. This research uses a case study of the oyster farming industry on the West Coast of British Columbia (B.C.). This thesis explores two interrelated clusters of questions: 1. How are oyster farmers on the B.C. coast perceiving and responding to environmental change, and what are the implications of this for the governance of the industry? 2. What role does—and might—the oyster farming industry play in supporting coastal sustainability in B.C., and how can researchers better support the efforts of those in the industry to solve the challenges they—and coastal communities more generally—face? Drawing on field research, including participant observation and sixteen interviews with oyster farmers and industry representatives across the region, this research finds that navigating broader social, political and economic changes is at least as important to farmers as the specific ecological changes with which they are grappling. As these findings suggest, environmental change needs to be understood within the context of the industry and culture on the coast; it should be nested within broader reforms to support the sustainability of the industry and the resilience of coastal communities to which it contributes. Furthermore, despite the myriad challenges facing oyster farmers, this research finds that they are actively seeking solutions to ameliorate the difficulties they face. In turn, environmental research and communication should consider how to better support the cultivation of environmental solutions. In summary, the research integrates the need for socio-political reform and solutions-based research and communication. It contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of how to support people and places during periods of rapid change. === Graduate