Ocean Disaster Risk Reduction: Designing Anticipatory Actions for Vulnerable Households Engaged in Marine Capture Fisheries

Abstract Until the past few decades, the global ocean has been relatively stable. Now, oceanic environmental trends reflect large shifts with consequences for coastal communities and the fisheries that they depend on. This article describes four likely and inter-related marine-related disasters that will impact fisheries and the communities that depend upon them: storm events, harmful algal blooms, ocean warming/marine heatwaves, and ocean acidification. To the extent that these disasters are happening today or emerging, this article queries what types of anticipatory actions are possible to assist with marine livelihoods. Drawing on work by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization to design ‘anticipatory actions’, this article proposes developing a program for parametric grants for vulnerable marine households that can be used to assist with climate adaptation for households engaged in marine fishing or can provide needed loss and damage payments.