How disasters and crises reshape economic vulnerability among small-scale fishers in Brazil

Small-scale fishers worldwide face compounded crises, yet vulnerability manifests differently across disruption types. Using 402 fishers’ surveys from Brazil, we contrast economic vulnerability pathways during an ecological disaster (oil spill) and a social crisis (COVID-19 pandemic), by combining income data with adaptation and perceived risk. Intersectional identities, not crisis type alone, determined vulnerability: gender drove disparities during the oil spill (women lost 2 times more income due to reliance on contaminated and low-value nearshore species). At the same time, age shaped pandemic impacts: while younger fishers incurred slightly larger proportional losses, older fishers maintained lower incomes and showed limited adaptative capacity. Pre-existing place-based inequities amplified both crises, accelerating entry into and intensification of hardship. We argue that equitable resilience requires crisis-tailored policies (e.g., gender-responsive support for ecological disasters; age-inclusive adaptation for health crises). Ignoring these intersectional pathways risks reinforcing marginalization in an era of compounding shocks.