A community-based approach to planning for the effects of
climate change on shellfishing in Wellfleet Harbor
BU’s Seminar Series on Climate Change
4:00 - 5:00pm CAS 132, 675 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA
Speaker: Seth Tuler
Associate Professor of Interdisciplinary and Global Studies, Worcester
Polytechnic Institute
Shellfish play a vital role in the ecology of Wellfleet
Harbor andrable to climate fish stocks in the northeastern US. Climate
change is predicated to cause changes in sea levels, air and water
temperatures, intensity and frequency of precipitation, and water
chemistry. In this presentation we will share the process and outcomes of
the Working Group on Climate Change impacts on shellfishing in Wellfleet
Harbor. The Working Group is a community-based group with broad
representation from the shellfish industry and the Town, whose purpose was
to identify: threats to shellfishing in Wellfleet Harbor from climate
change, the role of shellfish in mitigating impacts from climate change and
other environmental hazards in Wellfleet Harbor, and strategies to increase
the resilience of Wellfleet and its shellfishery in a time of climate
change. A community-based approach empowered local stakeholders to take a
more active role in planning for climate change and provides . The Working
Group produced reports, a website, and a systems dynamics model to
characterize the risks and vulnerabilities for the shellfish fishery and
local community due to a changing climate – both today and into the
future.
Bio: Seth Tuler is an Associate Teaching Professor in his research
interests more generally are concerned with public participation and
developing tools to inform planning about social impacts and
vulnerabilities to risk events. He is interested in applying insights
emerging from research to practical applications in a wide range of policy
arenas, including climate change adaptation planning and marine fisheries
management.
This program is supported in part by a grant to Earth & Environment Professor Dave Marchant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute through the Science Education Program.
