Abstract

MORENO-DIAZ, Mary-Luz  and  ALFARO, Eric J.. Socioeconomic valuation of the impact of climate variability on artisanal fisheries in Costa Rica. Uniciencia [online]. 2018, vol.32, n.1, pp.18-31. ISSN 2215-3470.  http://dx.doi.org/10.15359/ru.32-1.2.

In Costa Rica, the artisanal fleet was responsible for the 81.41% of the total fishing during the period 1990-2009. There are many pressures that this fleet has to face. One of these pressures is the lack of knowledge about the role of climate variability in the changes in fishing, and what steps should be taken to mitigate that variability. In this article, we applied a methodology that relates the variations in production of artisanal fisheries with the fluctuations in the sea surface temperature; this methodology also assesses the potential effects of these variations in fishermen’s income in a 10-year period. The results obtained showed that not all business groups of artisanal fisheries are sensitive to the sea surface temperature changes. In this case, it was found that shark was the most sensitive commercial group to the sea surface temperature, and that fishermen’s income was 53% higher in cold events than the one obtained in warm episodes of El Niño-Southern Oscillation (or ENSO).

Keywords : Climate Variability; fishery; income; fight against drought; project evaluation.

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