Abstract OPP-9515380 Hamilton Major declines in fish stocks in the North Atlantic region are having extensive impacts on northern communities. This three-year comparative environmental sociological and anthropological study examines how communities are responding to these environmental changes. The research design involves the collection and multivariate analysis of statistical data on fishing communities in Newfoundland, Greenland, Iceland and Norway accompanied by more detailed qualitative case studies on single communities in Iceland, Newfoundland and northern Norway. The objectives are to examine exactly how people are being impacted, and what households, communities, governments and other institutions are doing to adapt to these changes. of particular interest are concerns about sustainability, and how these vary by generation, gender, family, community, culture, levels of human and social capital, and political context. Finally, various adaptive responses that increase or reduce the resource base will be examined. The project is an important contribution to research on environmental policy, economic change, social change and global change.
