The role of family in shaping adaptation and adaptive capacity in small-scale fishing communities: The yellow clam fishers in Uruguay

Small-scale fisheries (SSFs) face numerous challenges, including resource overexploitation and precarious livelihoods due to limited or ineffective formal and institutional governance systems. In addressing the multifaceted challenges SSFs confront, such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and livelihood security, understanding their adaptive capacity becomes fundamental. Various social factors, including family dynamics, influence adaptive capacity. This paper presents an in-depth case study from Uruguay, examining the role of families in the yellow clam SSFs' adaptive capacity. It explores the influence of family ties and their impact on adaptation processes. The study draws on diverse datasets to highlight families' role in building adaptive capacity within SSFs. We find that family networks are a significant driver of other types of important social networks in communities (e.g., labor, governance, and knowledge). Additionally, family structures within communities influence key adaptive processes, such as the marketing of harvest within value chains. Our findings emphasize the significance of family as local, informal institutions and networks to strengthen capacity to manage diverse stressors and resources. Empirically, the paper sheds light on the intricate web of connections that are pivotal for the functioning of fisheries communities and the complex interplay between fisheries and family dynamics, and our work is important for informing policy interventions aimed at enhancing adaptive capacity through existing social capital. • Family is an important informal institution, which influences adaptation in rural, small-scale fishing communities. • Family ties are strong predictors of other networks within communities (e.g., governance , labour, and knowledge). • Family influences key adaptive processes, such as the degree of adoption of an innovation.