Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Harmful Algae journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/hal Economic and sociocultural impacts of fisheries closures in two fishing- dependent communities following the massive 2015 U.S. West Coast harmful algal bloom Jerilyn Ritzman a , Amy Brodbeck a , Sara Brostrom a , Scott McGrew a , Stacia Dreyer a,b , Terrie Klinger a , Stephanie K. Moore c, ⁎ a University of Washington, School of Marine and Environmental Affairs, 3707 Brooklyn Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98105, USA b Arizona State University, School for the Future of Innovation in Society, 1120 South Cady Mall, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA c Environmental and Fisheries Sciences Division, Northwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2725 Montlake Blvd E, Seattle, WA 98112, USA ARTICLEINFO Keywords: Domoic acid Pseudo-nitzschia Fisheries closures Economic impacts Sociocultural impacts Community resilience ABSTRACT In the spring of 2015, a massive harmful algal bloom (HAB) of the toxin-producing diatom Pseudo-nitzschia occurred on the U.S. West Coast, resulting in the largest recorded outbreak of the toxin domoic acid and causing fisheries closures. Closures extended into 2016 and generated an economic shock for coastal fishing commu- nities. This study examines the economic and sociocultural impacts of the Dungeness crab and razor clam fisheries closures on two fishing-dependent communities. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 36 community members from two communities impacted by the event – Crescent City, California and Long Beach, Washington. Interviewees included those involved in the fishing, hospitality, and retail industries, local gov- ernment officials, recreational harvesters, and others. Interviews probed aspects of resilience in economic, social, institutional, and physical domains, based on the contention that community resilience will influence the communities’ ability to withstand HAB events. Dimensions of vulnerability were also explored, encompassing sensitivity of the communities to HAB events and their adaptive capacity. Common themes that emerged from the interview responses indicate that economic hardships extended beyond fishing-related operations and per- meated through other sectors, particularly the hospitality industry. Significant barriers to accessing financial and employment assistance during extended fisheries closures were identified, particularly for fishers. Long-held traditions surrounding crab and shellfish harvest and consumption were disrupted, threatening the cultural identities of the affected communities. Community members expressed a desire for clearer, more thorough, and more rapid dissemination of information regarding the management of fisheries closures and the health risks associated with HAB toxins. The likelihood of intensifying HABs under climate change heightens the need for actions to increase the resilience of fishing communities to the economic and sociocultural impacts caused by HAB-related fisheries closures. 1. Introduction Many coastal communities on the west coast of the U.S. remain tightly tied to fisheries resources. At least 123 communities in Washington, Oregon and California can reasonably be described as fishing communities (Norman et al., 2007). Such communities are identified in the Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Conservation and Man- agement Act as being “substantially dependent on or substantially en- gaged in the harvest or processing of fishery resources to meet social and economic needs” (U.S. Department of Commerce, 1996). Perturbations to the fisheries that these communities rely on can reduce fishing opportunities and decrease landings, causing economic impacts, erode cultural identity, and negatively affect the physical and mental health of individuals (Hanna and Hall-Arber, 2000; Anderson et al., 2003; Clay and Olson, 2008; Martin, 2008; Olson, 2011; Colburn and Jepson, 2012; Himes-Cornell and Kasperski, 2016). These sociocultural consequences can propagate through fishing communities to impact individuals who are not directly involved in fisheries. Poor mental health, decreased life expectancy, increased poverty, alcoholism, drug use, and an overall loss of cultural identity have been documented in https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hal.2018.09.002 Received 31 May 2018; Received in revised form 29 August 2018; Accepted 9 September 2018 ⁎ Corresponding author. E-mail address: stephanie.moore@noaa.gov (S.K. Moore). Harmful Algae 80 (2018) 35–45 1568-9883/ © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. T