Marine biodiversity and the economic stability of fishing communities are threatened by extreme and complex challenges. As a result of climate change, the intensity and frequency of environmental disturbances in the ocean have increased, affecting the structure and functionality of marine ecosystems and fishery resources and the people who depend on them (Doney et al., 2012). Moreover, illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing has notably and negatively impacted marine ecosystems and their services (Worm and Branch, 2012; Worm, 2016). The combination of extreme environmental events with unsustainable practices has caused ecosystem-level changes, which have decreased the quality, availability, and diversity of resources (Silva et al., 2019), and generated uncertainty in fishing communities (Finkbeiner et al., 2018). However, ecosystem restoration is possible through sustainable fishing practices that integrate ecological, social, economic, and institutional perspectives (Pauly et al., 2002; Stephenson et al., 2018).

Incorporating a social-ecological perspective is key when developing action strategies that seek to promote sustainable fishing practices (Peña-Puch et al., 2020). This perspective addresses problems through an interdisciplinary approach to ensure the resilience of the ecosystems and the communities that depend on them. Small-scale fisheries (SSF) are an example of complex social-ecological systems (SESs) (Berkes, 2003) that have the potential capacity to resist and adapt to environmental changes. Through adaptive management, it is possible to support and improve the resilience of SESs (Folke et al., 2002). Therefore, it is of utmost importance to consider management strategies that take into consideration the vulnerability, complexity, and adaptive capacity of SESs.

Diverse management tools and strategies are available for fisheries. For example, the comanagement model involves resource users in the decision-making process and the implementation of diverse management strategies. This management model is based on participatory processes, such as community-based management, adaptive management, and participatory governance (Berkes, 2003; Gutiérrez et al., 2011; Álvarez et al., 2018; d’Armengol et al., 2018; Peña-Puch et al., 2020). In accordance with the principle of redundancy, comanagement recognizes the importance of complementary and synergistic strategies like the design, implementation, and monitoring of marine reserves and the diversification of fishery products, restocking actions, and fishery certifications (Bell et al., 2008; Elena M Micheli et al., 2012; Finkbeiner and Basurto, 2015; Di Franco et al., 2016). These strategies serve different functions within fisheries that range from promoting the adaptive capacity to coping with negative impacts to establishing collective decision-making systems (Álvarez et al., 2018).

Several SSFs have implemented comanagement with successful outcomes (Gutiérrez et al., 2011; McClenachan et al., 2015; Defeo et al., 2016; d’Armengol et al., 2018). In addition to comanagement, strategies such as territorial use rights for fishing (TURF) that grant exclusive access to fishery resources have contributed to better management outcomes in small scale fisheries in Latin America (Basurto et al., 2012; Defeo et al., 2016). In Mexico, examples of successfully managed small scale fisheries include the Punta Allen (Méndez-Medina et al., 2015) and Isla Natividad (IN; Figure 1A ) fishing cooperatives (Ponce-Díaz et al., 2009; Micheli et al., 2012; McCay et al., 2014; McCay, 2017; Álvarez et al., 2018). For example, in Isla Natividad, prolonged hypoxia during 2009–2010 resulted in the massive mortality of several economically important fishing resources in the region (Ponce-Díaz et al., 2009; Micheli et al., 2012; McCay et al., 2014; McCay, 2017; Boch et al., 2018); however, the positive effects of a combination of management actions promoted sustainable fishing and social-ecological resilience. Some benefits of the management strategies implemented in IN include enhancing its social and ecological adaptive capacity, promoting community economic growth, empowering the resource users, improving fishing practices, and obtaining a certification for one of its main fisheries (Micheli et al., 2012; Pérez-Ramírez et al., 2012; McCay et al., 2014; McCay, 2017; Finkbeiner et al., 2018). Thus, Isla Natividad represents an ideal case to describe and explore the possibility of scaling a successful management model for small scale fisheries in the Pacific coast of Baja California, Mexico.

To a great extent, the success of fisheries management in IN is due to the social-ecological context and cooperation among fishers of the Sociedad Cooperativa de Producción Pesquera Buzos y Pescadores de la Baja California, SCCP (hereinafter, Buzos y Pescadores) (McCay et al., 2014; Álvarez et al., 2018). However, the further exploration of IN social-ecological context might contribute to a clear vision on how to scale successful approaches to sustainability and adaptation in coastal SES. IN is an isolated example in the Baja California peninsula, and it is unclear if this approach can be implemented elsewhere in the region, particularly in locations that face similar environmental challenges. For instance, Isla Todos Santos (ITS) in Baja California constitutes a SES that is biophysically similar to the IN SES and may be an ideal place to explore if the successful management practices of IN might be scaled. To ensure the sustainability of small-scale fisheries at ITS, the adaptability of this SES must be increased by understanding the social-ecological interactions among its components. This knowledge will facilitate the generation of appropriate case-specific adaptive responses (Poulain et al., 2018) in other coastal SES.

The goal of this study was to explore the social-ecological context of a successful management model implemented in a coastal SES and how it could be replicated in another SES. Two SES models were compared, and their social-ecological contexts were explored to identify how to scale and implement adaptive comanagement based on their similarities and differences. Our SES models were located within two islands of the Baja California Pacific that face climate change-related challenges (Beas-Luna and Ladah, 2014; Woodson et al., 2019; Cheung and Frölicher, 2020): IN and ITS. The social and ecological conditions that appear to promote successful management strategies are discussed, as well as how to achieve resilience through a context specific management approach.

To analyze and compare the SESs of IN and ITS, 27 second-level variables were identified ( Table 1 ). Also, six strategies in which IN users have invested in resource management with successful outcomes for the SES were considered. By gathering information on IN, second-level variables were integrated. According to IN fishers, these variables could play a key role in management success. They include system predictability (RS7), diversity of actors (U1.2), usage history (U3), population (U2.1), user isolation (U2.3), and exclusive access rights to benthic resources (GS4). The comparison between the SESs of IN and ITS showed a greater PSI in the resource system (63%) and the resource units (77%) than in the governance system and resource users ( Figure 2 ). However, the general PSI value between the two SESs when all variables were considered was 51%. Therefore, this analysis suggests that IN and ITS have different social-ecological contexts, and the differences and similarities between the two SESs need to be analyzed independently.

To our knowledge, this is the first time that the SES framework has been used as a tool to quantify similarities and analyze the viability of scaling a successful management example of a small-scale fishery in coastal SES. This work describes how seemingly closely related SESs are in fact very different. The general implication that was highlighted from the results was that the main differences were revealed within the users and governance subsystems. The comparison between ITS and IN SESs suggested a 51% difference in the general similarity index. Interestingly, some of the differences between governance structures and stakeholder composition have been documented for fisheries in this region (Zetina-Rejón et al., 2020), indicating that the involvement of diverse stakeholders in governance networks promotes effective governance in the case of IN. On the other hand, similarities were found in that both SESs are characterized by highly valuable fishing resources. Both are located in highly productive coastal ecosystems that are vulnerable to climate change (Vilalta-Navas et al., 2018; Arafeh-Dalmau et al., 2019). Additionally, the characterization of both SESs allowed us to understand the social-ecological context of IN as a successful management model and to point out which variables in ITS can be improved and which are inherent to the system.

By quantifying the similarities between both SESs subsystems, we identified a context-specific set of actions to promote sustainability and social-ecological resilience in ITS. For example, strengthening the ITS governance system is probably one of the most relevant outcomes of this exercise. We found that there is a need to establish a set of rules by the resource users themselves to ensure compliance. However, the process will not be straight forward, as the dynamics among users are different between the two SESs (PSI 28%) and most of these variables are inherent to the system. For instance, IN fishers live in the SES, and thus they have a higher ability to identify events or circumstances that could affect or threaten their fishing resources, such as poaching or any other non-compliance with laws and regulations (McCay et al., 2014). In contrast, ITS is uninhabited, not isolated, and easily accessible to possible users without proper fishing permissions. This represents a potential threat for the resources and users of ITS, since the probabilities of illegal fishing increase. Hence, promoting enhanced governance at ITS is needed, however, this needs to be coupled with an enforcement program in which all stakeholders are held accountable for illegal activity.

In response to this, instead of trying to replicate the governance system of IN, an adaptation of the system according to the context must occur in ITS. We identified it is essential to involve users and diverse stakeholders in a participatory committee since participatory processes and the creation of cross-sectional consortia composed of NGOs, government agencies, academic entities, and resource users are essential for the management of small-scale fisheries (Karr et al., 2017; d’Armengol et al., 2018; Zetina-Rejón et al., 2020). In addition to the resource users, the SES framework facilitated the identification of several other entities that should be involved in a cross-sectoral consortium [e.g., fishers, mariculturists, local surfers, members of the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP), and local researchers]. This will allow for an opportunity to implement an enforcement program combined with adaptive management strategies, considering all parties involved in the use, management and conservation of natural resources of ITS.

On the other hand, the similarities found on the resource systems and resource units indicate that like in IN, implementing enhanced management practices in the ITS SES could result in significant benefits for an already productive system with resources of high economic value. The participation of a cross-sectoral consortium in management decisions will also contribute to smart decision making to cope with climate variability in the region. Red sea urchin populations in ITS have presented high historical variability; however, ITS has been identified as one of the sites with the highest population density of this species in Baja California (Medellín-Ortiz et al., 2020). On the contrary, a notable decrease in sea cucumber abundance in the region has been observed (Chávez et al., 2011) despite similar management strategies being implemented as those for the urchin fishery. Therefore, it is essential to implement strategies like TURFs and comanagement focused on recovering benthic resources and the fisheries in ITS (Ovitz and Johnson, 2019). In addition, CONANP, the World Surfing Reserve, and local researchers have proposed initiatives to implement a community monitoring program (Montaño-Moctezuma et al., 2013; CONANP, 2018; Arroyo et al., 2019). Along with restocking programs and marine reserves for benthic resources, these context-specific actions can provide a greater adaptive capacity and direct benefits for the resource users of ITS.

This study has compiled and integrated relevant information of the ITS SES resource system and resource units to document its productivity, sustainability, and adaptive capacity. For example, subtidal community structure, Landsat biomass estimations, physical and chemical oceanographic parameters, and fishing data were integrated (Palleiro-Nayar, 2013; Beas-Luna and Ladah, 2014; Beas-Luna et al., 2020; Medellín-Ortiz et al., 2020). The integration of this information must be accessible to users to facilitate the design and implementation of adaptive management strategies. Adaptive management has proven to be successful when resource users create collaborative networks and generate knowledge of their SES (Plummer et al., 2012). Therefore, the collective participation of users and those interested in conserving ITS is essential for adaptive management actions to be successful. This first effort is expected to help jump start additional data integration, the identification of information gaps, and the design of data visualization tools to keep all users informed and explore adaptive alternatives.

Isla Natividad represents a particularly successful case study because the SES has been shaped by specific conditions that allowed effective management strategies to be established (Álvarez et al., 2018). The results of this study suggest that the social-ecological context of IN shows structural differences from that of ITS, and to effectively replicate success at ITS, strategies need to be adapted to the circumstances of this SES. The case of IN is an example of how comprehensive, participatory, and collaborative management schemes can increase the adaptive capacity of a SES given a context of climate change and overfishing. This analysis highlighted the importance of an effective governance system, which was identified as crucial for achieving a resilient SES in ITS.

Finally, this approach to understanding if successful management examples in coastal SES may be scalable to other contexts helped identify the similarities and differences from a social-ecological perspective and how the success or failure of a management scheme may be determined by understanding this variability between SESs. The analysis of specific cases and particular contexts is therefore essential to scale successful management models instead of adopting universal approaches and so-called infallible remedies that inevitably fail due to a lack of contextual sensitivity (Ostrom, 2007; Partelow and Boda, 2015). In the absence of controlled experiments, sustainability sciences depend on comparative studies documenting small yet important differences consistently present in different cases.

This study identified how successful management models may be scaled to other SES. Two fishing SES of great ecological and socioeconomic importance were contrasted with regard to their organization and management levels. By using a social-ecological perspective, the characteristics that promote the successful implementation of strategies were identified in the context of climate change. It was found that IN is an example of this successful implementation and may provide lessons for establishing future management schemes in other SESs. To replicate the success of IN in ITS it is necessary to: 1) promote comanagement and the implementation of a cross-sectoral consortium, 2) identify any current information gaps, 3) obtain the missing data while keeping users informed and up-to-date on any progress, and 4) explore adaptive management alternatives based on the available information. These actions will enhance the adaptive capacity of ITS if they are incorporated into an adaptive management program that maintains open communication channels among all of the entities involved while promoting a transparent decision-making process. The design and implementation of management actions for ITS may constitute a preventive measure against climatic stress or potential overexploitation. The adaptation capacity of the SES may contribute to both social and ecosystem resilience.

The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/supplementary material. Further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding authors.

Conceptualization, CV-R, JL, and RB-L. Data curation, CV-R, JL, RB-L, AM-O, JT, and FM. Formal analysis, CV-R. Funding acquisition, JL, RB-L, JT, and FM. Investigation, JZ-D, GM-M, AM-O, JT, and FM. Methodology, CV-R, JL, RB-L, and JZ-D. Project administration, CV-R, JL, and RB-L. Resources, JL, RB-L, JT, and FM. Supervision, JL and RB-L. Validation, JZ-D, GM-M, AM-O, and JT. Visualization, CV-R and RB-L. Writing – original draft, CV-R, JL, and RB-L. Writing – review and editing, JZ-D, GM-M, AM-O, JT, and FM. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.

This study was supported by the Environmental Defense Fund of Mexico to CV-R, RB-L, GM-M,and JL, the Walton Family, the Marisla Foundation, the Sandler Family Foundation Publisher’s note to JT, the National Science Foundation DEB-1212124 and OCE1736830 to FM, and UABC internal Funds from UABC Funds to JL and RBL

We are grateful to the members of the fishing cooperative Buzos y Pescadores, the Isla Natividad community, and fishing cooperative Litoral for their participation and support of this research. We also thank S. J. Teck for the helpful suggestions that improved the manuscript.

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

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