The Perceived Ability to Cope and Adapt to Management Changes in Young and Old Fishers in Two New England Fishing Ports

The present research aims at examining commercial fishermen’s subjective resilience to management changes in two Southern New England fishing ports. This study also aims at analyzing the relationship between job satisfaction and level of occupational attachment with fishermen’s perceived ability to adapt and cope to change. The two age groups examined were categorized into a younger and older generation by splitting the mean age value of 46.6 to </= 45 for the younger and >45 for the older generation. Three hypotheses were developed: 1) Management practices have negatively influenced older fishermen’s perceptions on their ability to adapt to changes, where younger fishers perceive to be more resilient to management changes; 2) Level of resilience varies between fishing gear types. For example, those fishers participating in net fisheries perceive to be less resilient and able to adapt to changes than those fishing dredge gear; and 3) Between port differences may influence the relationships between variables in the first two hypotheses. In order to test these hypotheses, a total of 92 interviews were conducted with fishermen from the ports of Point Judith, Rhode Island and New Bedford, Massachusetts. Results of analyses show that there is no difference between age groups on fishermen’s perceived level of resilience. However, results show a positive relationship between age and fishermen’s Perceptions of Risk. Those involved in dredge gear fisheries (scallop, ocean clam/quahog) were shown to be more confident in their ability to adapt and cope to management changes. Results suggest that income and monetary gains play an important role in fishermen’s perception of their ability to adapt and cope with changes. Correlations between levels of job satisfaction components suggest that a decrease in satisfaction with income and financial needs could result in lower levels of perceived ability to adapt and cope with management changes. Results from this study have the potential to contribute to the expansion of knowledge and inspire future research about the adaptability of fishermen for future policy strategies.

generation by splitting the mean age value of 46.6 to </= 45 for the younger and >45 for the older generation. Three hypotheses were developed: 1) Management practices have negatively influenced older fishermen's perceptions on their ability to adapt to changes, where younger fishers perceive to be more resilient to management changes; 2) Level of resilience varies between fishing gear types. For example, those fishers participating in net fisheries perceive to be less resilient and able to adapt to changes than those fishing dredge gear; and 3) Between port differences may influence the relationships between variables in the first two hypotheses. In order to test these hypotheses, a total of 92 interviews were conducted with fishermen from the ports of Point Judith, Rhode Island and New Bedford, Massachusetts. Results of analyses show that there is no difference between age groups on fishermen's perceived level of resilience. However, results show a positive relationship between age and fishermen's Perceptions of Risk. Those involved in dredge gear fisheries (scallop, ocean clam/quahog) were shown to be more confident in their ability to adapt and cope to management changes. Results suggest that income and monetary gains play an important role in fishermen's perception of their ability to adapt and cope with changes. Correlations between levels of job satisfaction components suggest that a decrease in satisfaction with income and financial needs could result in lower levels of perceived ability to adapt and cope with management changes. Results from this study have the potential to contribute to the expansion of knowledge and inspire future research about the adaptability of fishermen for future policy strategies. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would first like to thank of course, mom and dad. I am forever grateful for the kindness and love you have always shown me through every journey. To my big brothers, who I have looked up to since my mullet hair days and even before, without saying a word you encourage me, "Little Ang," to work hard and love whatever I do. And to the rest of my family (and yes, I mean ALL of you) for always being there and teaching me how to love, care, and have unconditional respect for whom and what is important to me. I would also like to thank my advisor, Dr. Richard Pollnac, who has provided me with immense support and countless lessons over the years. Thank you for your patience, encouragement, and consistent "nagging"; without which this would not be possible. I only hope that I have as much passion in my life as you do for all of your students in helping them achieve their goals.
To Dr. Lisa Colburn for providing me years of opportunities to be part of something I have always cared about and allowing me to continuously learn and expand my knowledge in this field. I can't thank you enough for your flexibility and support throughout this crazy process. Thank you! To Tarsila Seara who without your selfless support and guidance and of course endless laughs out on the docks this would not be possible! This experience wouldn't have been the same without those afternoons at the Royal II and climbing over triple docked New Bedford boats during snow and ice storms; anything to get fieldwork done! Thank you!! To all my friends and co-workers and co-workers who became friends, thank you for all the help and support in making this possible. Thank you, Changhua Weng for being a listening ear and guiding me through this process! To John Tully, I'm sorry for all the surfing days missed in order to make this happen.

INTRODUCTION
Chapter I provides an introduction to the problem that will be investigated in the present study. The theoretical background that led to the development of the main research question and hypotheses, also discussed in this chapter, is presented here.
This chapter also provides a description of the fishing ports studied.

Theoretical background and statement of the problem
The commercial fishing industry has lived through multiple periods of management change and in the past few decades has seen an increased emphasis on understanding the social impacts of proposed changes in management regulations in fishing communities. The 1976 passage of the Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Formerly FCMA, now known as the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act after later reauthorization, or MSA) has been the largest change to affect U.S fisheries. It began a new era of expansion that was promoted by the U.S government (Young 1982). The intensification of foreign fishing off the coast of New England and the decline of important fish stocks, as well as the strengthening of a fisheries science in the sustainability of fishing resources set the stage for the 1976 FCMA (Gordon 1954). Many fisheries throughout the world today are recognized as being in crisis, with 31.4 percent of fish stocks estimated at being fished at biologically unsustainable levels in 2015 (FAO 2016).

Social Sciences in fisheries management
During the early years of the MSA, sociocultural data necessary for analyzing potential impacts of regulations was rarely available (Colburn et al. 2006). The MSA was amended extensively in 1996. The term "fishing communities" was recognized for the first time under National Standard 8 (NS8). NS8 or "the communities' standard," calls for the recognition of impacts that regulations have on fishing communities. Fishing communities are defined under NS8 as "a social or economic group whose members reside in a specific location and share a common dependency on commercial recreational, or subsistence fishing or on directly related fisheriesdependent services and industries (for example, boatyards, ice suppliers, tackle shops)" (Fed Reg. Vol. 63, No. 84, p.24235). NS8 states that "Conservation and management measures shall, consistent with the conservation requirements of this Act (including the prevention of overfishing and rebuilding of overfished stocks), take into account the importance of fishery resources to fishing communities in order to (A) provide for the sustained participation of such communities, and (B) to the extent practicable, minimize adverse economic impacts on such communities" (16 U.S. Code § 1851(2)(8)).

The role of fisheries social science research
The U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service (now NOAA Fisheries), the governing body for fisheries, is responsible for the development of biological, economic, and social impact assessments (SIAs) of each proposed fishery regulation as required under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA; 42 U.S.C § 4321). According to Colburn et al. (2006) the passage of NS8 required NMFS to 3 "consider how fishing-dependent communities can adapt and sustain their engagement in marine resources harvesting and processing in the face of complex pressures" (2006: 234). Colburn et al. (2006) reviewed research done by social scientists employed in fisheries on the federal, academia, and contractor levels and found common themes in their work including recognizing that some fishing communities are in crisis due to a combination of declining stocks, globalization effects, coastal development, climate change, and environmental degradation. A large part of the role of social science in fisheries management is to evaluate and predict how communities might respond to changes that are brought on by management efforts as a result of declining fish stocks and other external forces. Colburn et al. (2006) found that the role of social science raises a number of key questions related to the culture of fishing communities including: do participants quit fishing or adapt to new conditions?

Social Impacts of fisheries management
Management consequences for fishers and their families are multiple and interwoven. In a study by Pollnac et al. (2011), fishermen in the Southern New England region stated the regulations that were impacting the fishers the most consisted of gear restrictions, quota system, size/sex restrictions, days at sea, groundfish regulations, catch shares, and area closures. Nearly 45 percent of fishers' responses in Pollnac et al. (2011) identified changes in income as the most significant change due to regulations. Fishers also reported regulations have significantly impacted their fishing activity and families. Fishermen who participated in a study by Mederer (2000) in Point Judith, Rhode Island on impacts on commercial fishing 4 families from Amendment 5 and 7 of the Multispecies (groundfish) Fishery Management Plan, stated that the amendments caused stress that required much individual, family, and community adaptation. It was found that there was a unique blend of strategies to cope with the demands of fishing until Amendment 5 and 7.
Regulations could be changed and imposed as data became available after Amendment 7 was enacted, so fishers in Point Judith stated that adjusting to one new reality was difficult because they were unable to control when, what, where, and how they could fish on a long term basis. The stress on families stemmed from the fishers inability to do this. There was little control and a lot of unpredictability, therefore impossible for families to plan for change (Mederer, 2000).

Studies of Resilience in fishing
Resilience is the ability of social and economic systems to cope with and adapt to change (Folke et al, 2002). The process of change, adaption, and resilience underlies all fisheries (Hanna, 2000). Adapting to changes involves making adjustments to changing circumstances in order to survive (Hanna, 2000). Fishers respond in different ways when a policy restricts use or access to the resource. Some may have the capability to incorporate the requirements of the policy change into their work and continue to function as a fisher. Therefore, they are recognized as resilient.
Other fishers could decide that the conditions within the system have become socially or economically unsustainable and would rather leave the industry .
Having the knowledge of a system's resilience enables managers to understand consequences of change events, including new policies. With this information managers should be able to choose policy options that balance social and economic 5 costs with sustainability goals of the resource. Such policy options should be those least likely to affect the system's ability to cope with change (Holling, 1996).  built a conceptual model of social resilience for resource-dependent users. The response of fishers to anticipated change events was found to be determined by four characteristics; 1) perceptions of risk associated with change, 2) perception of the ability to plan, learn, and reorganize, 3) perception of the ability to cope, and 4) level of interest in learning to change. Those that were younger were more likely to take on the challenge of changes or set up a business outside the fishing industry. The idea of planning, learning, and reorganizing careers was unwelcomed by older fishers who couldn't see themselves doing anything else and were attached to the fishery, finding themselves to young to retire and too old to find work elsewhere. Those fishers that were in their early fifties were the most negative about their ability to cope. They believed they were too young to retire and unemployable in any other field .
Studies done in New England show an increase in average age over time in fisheries. Data was collected in 1977 (Acheson et al. 1980/2010(Pollnac et al. 2011 for job satisfaction studies. In 1977, the mean age was 33.9 years. In Pollnac et al. (2011), the overall mean age for fishers was 43.6 years. When asked the question 'would you advise a young person to enter fishing,' in 1977, 84 percent said yes while only 33 percent said yes in 2010 (Pollnac et al. 2011).

Objective of the study
Primarily, the present research aims at examining fishermen's perception of their level of resilience to management changes in Point Judith, Rhode Island and New 6 Bedford, Massachusetts, and examining the ability to cope and adapt to change within different age groups. The study also aims at analyzing the influence of job satisfaction and level of occupational attachment on their perception of their level of resilience.

Research question and hypotheses
Research question: Have management practices affected the resilience of New England fishermen by limiting the perceived ability to adapt to changes in young and older fishers?

Hypothesis I:
Management practices have negatively influenced older fishermen's perceptions on their ability to adapt to changes, where younger fishers perceive to be more resilient to management changes.

Hypothesis II:
Level of resilience varies between fishing gear sectors. For example, those fishers participating in net gear fisheries are less resilient and able to adapt to changes than those in the dredge gear fisheries.

Hypothesis III:
Between port differences may influence the relationships between variables in the first two hypotheses.

Point Judith, Rhode Island
Point Judith is a village located in the town of Narragansett, Rhode Island on the western side of Narragansett Bay and opens out onto Rhode Island Sound. The Port of Galilee, located in Point Judith, has been Rhode Island's largest fishing port for many decades and ranks as one of the East Coast's most productive fishery landings sites (Pollnac et al. 2011).
The first commercial and subsistence fishermen of Rhode Island relied on simple techniques such as hook-and-line, floating fish traps, and beach seines. Seine fishermen often fished from the beach in Point Judith, with two men throwing a net from a row boat to surround the fish. Spot fishermen commonly rode on horseback and signaled the location of fish schools from ashore. With as many as sixteen men needed to haul in the net, neighbors would often help in exchange for a share of the fish (Acheson et al. 1980). Island General Assembly named a special committee to investigate the alleged disputes but it did not result in any specific measure to overcome the conflicts. The 8 situation illustrates the origins of the familiar debate in U.S fisheries history of the introduction of innovative fishing technology (Gersuny and Poggie 1973).
In October of 1947 the Point Judith Fishermen's Cooperative was established.
The co-op was a means of looking out for the economic interests of the local fishermen. The co-op ensured higher fish prices and therefore higher incomes for the fishermen (Doeringer 1986).
Gross landings of many important species began to decline after 1960. In order to maintain a relatively stable amount and value of total landings, the Rhode Island fishing industry went through a phase of diversification. Offshore lobstering was introduced as a part of this diversification process. Wing trawls and pair trawls were also new methods introduced primarily for the capture of herring, another species that began to decline in the 1970s most likely as a result of the new technology (Doeringer 1986).
Traditionally, New England and Canadian fleets had the fishing grounds off the New England coast to themselves. In 1960, U.S fishermen were responsible for landing 90 percent of the resources harvested in Georges Bank grounds and the Canadian fishermen landed the remaining 10 percent. That same year, the first foreign "factory ships" arrived in New England waters and by 1972, American fishermen landed only a little over 10 percent of the harvest from Georges Bank grounds (Doeringer 1986).
The Point Judith Fishermen's Cooperative went out of business in 1994 as a result of declining stocks and overinvestment in infrastructure. It is now run as an independent fish marketing organization. The Commercial Fisheries Center of Rhode Island was founded in 2004 and is home to nonprofit commercial fishing organizations. It serves "as a headquarters for bringing fishermen, scientists, managers, and elected officials together to discuss issues" (CFCRI nd).
The state's fisheries are divided into three major sectors: shellfish, lobster, and finfish. The shellfish sector includes oysters, soft shell clams, and quahogs. The lobster sector primarily consists of the American lobster. The finfish sector targets a variety of species including groundfish, tautog, striped bass, black sea bass, scup, bluefish, butterfish, squid, whiting, skate, and dogfish.  Table 1 below. Other species landed in Point Judith include small mesh groundfish, dogfish, bluefish, tilefish, and surf clam/ocean quahogs.    * Atlantic cod, haddock, pollock, yellowtail flounder, witch flounder, winter flounder, windowpane flounder, American plaice, Atlantic halibut, Atlantic wolfish, redfish, ocean pout, and white hake ** Species not federally managed *** Silver hake (whiting), red hake, and offshore hake

Thesis Organization
The present study is organized into five chapters. Chapter II provides a review of the literature important to the primary focus of this study. Chapter III reviews the research methods used, including a more detailed discussion of the resilience and job satisfaction variables used. Chapter IV presents the analyses and results and Chapter V presents the discussion and conclusions.
13 CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Chapter II provides a review of the literature on the main elements related to the present study. The first sections of this chapter present an overview of resilience theory, more specifically on resilience in different age groups as well as resilience studies of fishing and fishing communities. Concluding this chapter is a historical overview of the fisheries management strategies implemented on Northeast Multispecies (groundfish), a fishery that has gone through multiple management changes and is of interest in the ports studied in this research.

Resilience theory
Through studies of interacting populations like predators and prey and their functional responses in relation to ecological stability theory, the resilience perspective emerged in the 1960s and early 1970s (Holling 1961, Lewontin, 1969, Rosenzweig 1971, May 1972. Ecologist Holling (1961) introduced resilience as the capacity to persist within a domain in natural systems in the face of change. He proposed that "resilience determines the persistence of relationships within a system and is a measure of the ability of these systems to absorb changes of state variables, driving variables and parameters, and still persist" (Holling 1973, 17). A number of studies of resilience have focused on the capacity to absorb shocks and still maintain function.
One aspect of resilience concerns the capacity for renewal, re-organization and development (Gunderson and Holling, 2002;Berkes et al. 2003). The importance of clear and measurable definitions of resilience has become vital. Gunderson and Holling (2002) define resilience as the capacity of a system to undergo disturbance and maintain its functions and controls. Resilience is measured by the magnitude of disturbance the system can tolerate and still persist. This definition is contrasted with Pimm (1984) who states the appropriate measure of resilience is the ability of the system to resist disturbance and the rate at which it returns to equilibrium following disturbance (Pimm 1984, Tilman andDowning 1994). These two definitions and the contrast between the two has been useful in encouraging managers to think about the persistence of systems and allowed them to break away from traditional management techniques which focus on the unachievable goal of stability.
Resilience as applied to ecosystems or integrated systems of people and the natural environment, has three characteristics: (a) the amount of change the system can undergo and still retain the same controls on structure and function, therefore remaining within the same domain of attraction; (b) the degree to which the system is capable of self-organization, rather than lack of organization or organization forced by external factors; (c) the degree to which the system can build the capability to learn and adapt , Resilience Alliance 2012. An important attribute of this definition is that it is a system-wide definition where it focuses on the behavior of the entire system whether it is a coastal community or a large marine ecosystem. This is in contrast to some resource management strategies such as single-species fishery or species complexes (i.e. Northeast Groundfish fishery) management which attempts to manage single species, or these species complexes in the context of a greater ecosystem. The transition to a more system-wide resilience framework can become problematic as major stakeholders in the 'system' can become marginalized.
The ecosystem resilience theory focuses on the ability to handle stress in an adaptive manner, which contrasts the idea of "engineering resilience." Engineering resilience starts from the concept of equilibrium and focuses on how far a system can be displaced from a fixed point of equilibrium and still return to that equilibrium once the disturbance has passed (Holling 1996). Engineering resilience is more familiar and easier to model, but ecosystem resilience as a point of departure makes more sense for studies of institutional dynamics as well as socio-ecological systems (Holling and Gunderson 2002).
Resilience has more recently been applied to the concept of social-ecological systems, or SES (Carpenter et al. 2005). SESs are complex, integrated systems in which humans are part of nature (Berkes and Folke 1998). Social and ecological systems are linked as Norgaard (1994) and others have related interdependent and coevolutionary relationships. The resilience of social-ecological systems depends on slowly changing variables such as climate, land use, nutrient stocks, human values and policies (Resilience Alliance 2012).
The dynamics of SESs can be described and analyzed in terms of a cycle, or the adaptive cycle (Gunderson et al. 1995, Gunderson andHolling 2002). The theory of the adaptive cycle argues that dynamical systems such as ecosystems, societies, corporations, economies, nations, and SESs do not lean toward some stable or equilibrium condition. Instead they pass through four characteristic phases; rapid growth and expansion (r), conservation (K), collapse or release (Ω), and renewal or reorganization (α). The r phase merging into the (K) phase comprises a slow, cumulative forward loop of the cycle. At this point dynamics of the system are reasonably predictable. As the (K) phase continues, resources become locked up and the system becomes less flexible and receptive to external shocks. A chaotic collapse is inevitable and the (Ω) phase rapidly gives way to (α). The reorganization phase can be rapid or slow, during which innovation and new opportunities are possible. An unpredictable backloop can occur with the combination of (Ω) and (α) phase. The (α) phase leads into a successive (r) phase, and can resemble the previous (r) phase or be significantly different. Systems can move back from (K) toward (r), or from (r) directly into (Ω), or back from (α) to (Ω). The cycles occur at a number of scales and SESs exist as panarchies, or adaptive cycles interacting across multiple scales ). The two systems are linked by the elements revolt and remember. The element revolt characterizes disturbance (Ω) of a small and fast cycle on large and slow events, usually breaking a state of conservation (K). The element remember is related to the learning processes that will help a system in the phase of conservation (K) to cope with the renewal phase (α) in a smaller and faster cycle.  Gunderson and Holling (2002) (adapted from resalliance.org)  note there are four crucial aspects of resilience: latitude, resistance, precariousness, and panarchy. Latitude is defined as the maximum amount a system can be changed before losing its ability to recover .
Resistance is often seen as a complementary attribute of resilience in order to assess long-term persistence . Resistance is defined as the ease or difficulty of changing the system; how "resistant" it is to being changed.
Precariousness is how close the current state of the system is to a limit or "threshold." Panarchy is the idea that because of cross-scale interactions, the resilience of a system at a focal scale will depend on the influences from states and dynamics at scales above and below . Some examples  give are external oppressive politics, invasions, market shifts or global climate change which can trigger local surprises and regime shifts.  use stability landscapes as a metaphor for their measures of resilience-latitude, resistance, and precariousness. A "basin of attraction" is a region in state space in which the system tends to remain. For those systems that move toward an equilibrium, the state is defined as an "attractor." The basin of attraction represents all conditions that will lean toward the equilibrium state and there can be more than one such basin for any given system. All SESs however are buffeted by disturbances, stochasticity, and decisions of actors on a continuous basis. The basins that a system may occupy, and the boundaries that separate them, are the "stability landscapes" (Beisner et al. 2003).
Both exogenous drivers and endogenous processes can lead to changes in stability landscape. These include changes in the number of basins of attraction, changes in the positions of the basins within the state space, changes in the positions of the thresholds (edges) between basins, or changes in the "depths" of basins, or the measure of how difficult it is to move the system around within the basin. The steep sides imply greater perturbations or management efforts are needed to change the state of the system (resistance). Moving the system around changes its position within a basin relative to the edge or moves it to a new basin (precariousness). Some basins are more desirable to the people in this system more than others and the objective might be to prevent the system from moving into an alternate, undesirable basin from which recovery may be difficult or impossible (Walker and Meyers 2004).
Resilience is often used in conjunction with "adaptive capacity," a term with multiple meanings ). Adaptive capacity is the capacity of the human actors in the system to manage resilience. It is also defined as the capacity of any human system from the individual to human kind to increase (or at least maintain) the quality of life of its individual members in a given environment or range of environments. Adaptive capacity reflects learning, gives flexibility to experiment and adopt novel solutions, and includes the development of generalized responses to broad classes of challenges (Walker et al. 2002). In the context of stability landscapes, adaptability can include: making desirable basins of attraction wider and/ or deeper, shrinking undesirable basins, creating new desirable basins, or eliminating undesirable ones, and changing the current state of the system to move deeper into a desirable basin or closer to an undesirable one (Walker and Meyers 2004). From a natural systems perspective it is becoming apparent that a more appropriate definition may allow for a coastal social-ecological system to 'adapt' itself in response to external disturbances. In this case, large-scale structural changes can occur as long as the system remains capable of delivering the core services (Gibbs 2009).
There are a number of different conceptual definitions for resilience in the literature (see , Folke 2006, Gibbs 2009). The objective of the present study is to apply the concept of resilience in a rational perspective in the context of U.S. fishing communities. The definition adopted in the present study is the ability of a system to cope with change during a specific disturbance. A resilient SES undergoing pressure may not necessarily go back to the previous state of equilibrium, but may change to a different desirable state.

Age and adaptability
Many studies in general psychology and vocational behavior have looked at the relationship of age with one's ability to cope and be resilient to change. The results of such studies are mixed in whether age plays a definitive role in one's ability to adapt to changes in one's life or work environment. Hamarat et al. (2002), note that research on age differences in coping has yielded inconsistent results, in part because of differing approaches used in measuring and qualifying coping and because of the selection of coping resources measured.
Individuals cope by either actively amending their environment to fit the circumstances or adjusting their personal preferences and goals to fit environmental demands (Brandtstädter and Rothermund 2002). Research suggests that the strength of the relationship between coping flexibility and psychological adjustment varies by 20 age. The accommodation process is essential for successful aging (Brandtstädter 2009).
As people get older they adopt more accommodative strategies to deal with limitations imposed. Many older adults report that they are happier, experience fewer stressful events, and have fewer negative emotions than do their younger counterparts (Auerbach & Gramling 1998). Older age is reported by many as a time of elevated satisfaction, marked by the pursuit of new endeavors and an increase in meaningful relationships (Bengston 1996).
A common stereotype about aging individuals is they lack the ability to adapt to stressful situations. Older individuals are portrayed as being unyielding in their responses or as using regressive defense mechanisms that distort reality instead of dealing effectively with it (McCrae 1982). Two studies found the influence of age on coping mechanisms to be unsupportive of this perception (McCrae 1982 (Billings & Moos 1981, Folkman & Lazarus 1980, Ilfeld 1980. In a study by Zacher (2014) and 1942, and the Baby Boomers between 1943 and 1964. Gen X'ers tend to distrust hierarchy, like more informal arrangements, and prefer to make judgments based on value rather than on status. Gen X'ers entered the work force at a time when career planning and development were largely individual responsibilities and the average worker expected to make several considerable changes in their employment or career direction. Therefore, it seems likely that the Gen X generation is more adaptable than those in some other age categories. The authors examined how individual adaptability is associated with personal characteristics; age being one characteristic, as well as other factors such as the organization of the work environment and accumulation of human capital. The authors cite Ayres and Potter (1989), who believe motivation to change decreases with age and propose that middle-age individuals should be more adaptable than elderly ones. Reise and Gold (1993) however, state that both middle-age and older adults may have negative attitudes toward developmental experiences that are required to become adaptable because it is unexpected at that point in their lives. As a result, the authors hypothesized and found there was no such correlation between age and adaptability. Johnson's (1998) best-selling book offers a metaphor for individual differences in reactions to stressful life changes. Some people are sensitive to and ready for such changes and are vigorously trying various coping strategies to deal with the changing environment, while others feel surprised and uncomfortable when changes occur and 23 resist formulating new strategies to cope with the altered environment. Those individuals that are characterized as having a flexible coping style will readily vary their strategies and those that are inflexible adhere to the same old strategies regardless of situational changes. Rogers (2003:12) discusses innovations as being an "idea, practice, or object that is perceived as new by an individual or other unit of adoption…the perceived newness of the idea for the individual determines his or her reaction to it. If the idea seems new to the individual, it is an innovation." This can be applied to the social and economic changes associated with fisheries management. The rate of adoption is the "relative speed with which an innovation is adopted by members of a social system" (Rogers, 2003, 23). When a number of individuals in a social system adopt a new idea only a few individuals adopt the innovations at first and then the number begins to climb as more individuals adopt the idea. The rate of adoption begins to level off, as fewer and fewer individuals remain who have not yet adopted the idea (Rogers, 2003).

Theory of Innovation
Rogers (2003) (Rogers, 2003). The adoption of new management and the ability of fishers to cope with these changes can be examined in terms of Rogers' findings.

Resilience and coping in fishing
The overexploitation of fisheries is a global concern (Jackson et al. 2001, Worm et al. 2009) and policies that regulate natural resources are increasing in number and inflexibility (Holling and Meffe 1996, Caddy 1999, Ostrom et al. 1999).
The concept of resilience is now used in a great variety of interdisciplinary work concerned with the interactions between people and nature (see Gunderson et al. 1995, Hanna et al.1996, Ludwig et al. 1997, Berkes and Folk 1998, Redman 1999, Kinzig et al. 2000, Gunderson 2000, Gunderson and Holling 2002. Managing for resilience allows resource managers to design resource-protection strategies that minimize socioeconomic impacts without minimizing the system's ability to cope with future disruptions, whether they be natural or man-made (Lane and Stephenson 1997, Levin et al. 1998, Scheffer et al. 2001). The impacts on resource users can have significant social and economic implications on fishers and where they live and work (Smith and Jepson 1993, Smith et al. 2003, Clay and Olson 2008, Tuler et al. 2008; therefore, resource policies that are implemented without considering the social consequences can often cause long term impacts and conflicts. In the face of changing environments, declining fish stocks, and increasing regulations, there has been growing concern for the adaptation and resilience of fishing communities (Robards and Greenberg 2007, Allison et al. 2007, Healey 2009  While measuring influences at a community level is vital, measuring resilience and vulnerability at the individual fisher level is also essential in understanding potential impacts on management changes. The ability of resource users to cope with and adapt to changes in management of resources will determine the social and economic impacts of their response .  developed a conceptual model for resource managers to practically incorporate resilience knowledge into policy development and implementation. The authors use the commercial fishing industry in North Queensland, Australia as a case study, using survey questions to measure resilience by asking participants to assess their expected level of well-being in terms of acceptability, flexibility, other opportunities, and willingness to be creative in their approach to adapting to policy change. The authors  found that resilience in commercial fishers confronted with policy change can be described by four characteristics: (1) (Smith and Clay, 2010).
For people presenting strong occupational attachment, the idea of losing their jobs may represent not only the loss of income, but part of their self-identity ). Often times, resilience and well-being can be considered as partially overlapping concepts. The use of indicators to monitor sustainability and other measures of well-being for all components of marine fisheries has been promoted within international fisheries (FAO 2008). Indicators of well-being have been developed by anthropologists since the 1970s in many research fields and specifically fishing (Smith and Clay, 2010). In an effort to create a conceptual model for predicting the social impacts of fishery management action alternatives, Pollnac et al. (2006Pollnac et al. ( , 2015 show the relationship between multiple attributes that directly or indirectly influence well-being at individual and community levels ( Figure 1).
28 Figure 2. The Social Impact Analysis (NESIA) model developed by Pollnac et al. (2006) Job satisfaction is an important component of well-being. Management can drive changes to fishing communities that directly and indirectly affect aspects of job satisfaction and well-being (see Pollnac et al. 2006Pollnac et al. , 2015. Pollnac and Poggie (1988) first developed measures of job satisfaction in fisheries. Regulation-related changes in work conditions (e.g. ability to choose timing of fishing, income changes, time spent at sea) can decrease job satisfaction and have negative effects of mental health, physical health, and impaired personal relationships (Pollnac et al. 2006Smith et al. 2003). It has been well established that the structure of job satisfaction among fishermen has components not usually seen in other occupations (Acheson et al. 1980, Bunce et al. 2000, Pollnac and Poggie, 2008, Pollnac et al. 2011. Fishermen frequently describe fishing as more than just an occupation. Research by Pollnac and Poggie (2008) has suggested that satisfaction with the adventure-loving and risktaking personality type is not influenced by changes in the basic needs (income, predictability in income, safety) component and fishermen manifesting this personality type are less willing to leave the occupation for alternative work. Numerous studies show that fishermen would resist leaving the occupation of fishing even when income is low (Crawford 2002, Binkley 1995, Pollnac et al. 2001. Considering the attachment that fishermen have towards their occupation, measures to maintain resilience within fishing must take into account the issues of job satisfaction and wellbeing to preserve community resilience. The original Groundfish plan relied on hard quotas and then switched to minimum fish sizes and codend mesh regulations for the Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank to control fishing mortality (NEFMC 1994). In 1994, Amendment 5 of the FMP made significant changes seeking to eliminate overfishing of groundfish within 5 years (NEFMC, 1994). There were two major actions for this amendment. A moratorium on new vessel permits and days-at-sea (DAS) was implemented to reduce fishing effort.
Permits were issued to entitle fishermen to a certain number of days in the season.
Fishing effort was to be cut by 10 percent a year and restrictions were placed on mesh sizes (NEFMC 1994). Hall-Arber (1993) conducted a social impact assessment of Amendment 5 and noted that fishermen in New England were experiencing great anxiety and fear of the potential changes. Many fishermen did not have the economic means to adapt rapidly to the changes the industry was experiencing at this time.
Amendment 7 was adopted in 1996 because earlier effort reduction objectives were not achieved. The amendment closed 6,000 square miles of Georges Bank and increased allowable mesh sizes again. More quotas were developed for species and became more restrictive. The number of days allowed to fish decreased through DAS 31 regulations. Incentives were provided for those who fished exclusively with mesh size larger than the minimum required. Amendment 7 also stated that new regulations could be implemented as new data became available (NEFMC, 1996). Olson and Pinto da Silva (2014) note that fishermen of different ages have faced differing challenges with sectors, with younger fishermen discouraged from entry and older fishermen concerned about being able to retire. While interviewing sector managers after implementation, one pointed out that the new fishing regulations require a new way of thinking: those who are able and willing to adapt and take a long-term view will benefit, but those who don't will lose out, and the manager worried that many fishermen are no longer willing to adapt anymore (Olson and Pinto da Silva (2014).
Understanding the theory of resilience, including the concept of socialecological resilience, literature on age and adaptability, and resilience studies in fishing allows better understanding for the methods used in the present study. The 33 groundfish fishery is just one example of changes in management in New England fisheries that have forced fishermen to adapt to a continuously changing industry. The next chapter will give more detail on the methods used in this study.

METHODOLOGY
Chapter three describes the methods used in the present study to investigate the research problem and address the hypotheses presented in Chapter I.

Surveys
Structured surveys conducted with fishermen from the ports studied were used as a means of assessing and measuring their perceptions of change and their resilience to those changes. The sampling method used was opportunistic, approaching fishermen at the docks (Bernard 2006). Each interview was about fifteen to twenty minutes in length.

Participants and sampling design
The sample included owners, captains, captain/owners, as well as crew; therefore, the opportunistic approach was the best option to reach a representative sample of members of the fishing industry. A truly random study was not possible because there is no database listing all active members of the industry. Furthermore, given the nature 35 of fishermen's unpredictable schedules arranging interviews can be difficult.
According to Pollnac and Poggie (1978) the most successful way to obtain information from fishermen is to approach them at the docks when they are working on gear, preparing for a trip, or socializing with other fishermen. Fishermen were approached at all times of the day and days of the week.

Measures
The questionnaire (Appendix I) was created to obtain the following information: 1) information about demographics and characteristics of participants ; 2) measure of individual subjective resilience; 3) assess individual levels of job satisfaction; 4) perceptions of their future in fishing.

Resilience
Fishermen's subjective resilience was measured using a scale developed by . can be found in Table 3 below. 3=disagree; 4=strongly disagree). The added neutral option in this study allowed respondents to have an option to neither agree nor disagree with the statements. The neutral option was originally added in research studies in an effort to avoid false responses (Bishop 1987) so that people were not forced to choose a response that did not reflect their true beliefs (Johns 2005 andKrosnick et al. 2002). It is possible that the use of a neutral option may influence results by giving fishermen an option to respond when they do not understand the question or simply "do not know" rather than be neutral on the question.

Job Satisfaction
Job satisfaction was first assessed by Pollnac and Poggie in 1977(Acheson et al 1980, Pollnac and Poggie 1988. Further research on job satisfaction in the U.S and Canadian fisheries by them and others was published (e.g. Gatewood and McCay 1990, Pollnac and Poggie 2006, Brinkley 1995. The job satisfaction variable was originally measured using a twenty-two item scale. The items included topics that were shown by previous research to be associated with job satisfaction among fishermen. Factor analysis was used to develop the three components of job satisfaction: Basic Needs, Social and Psychological Needs, and Self-Actualization. Pollnac (2010Pollnac ( , 2011 reduced the number of indicators for each component to the three that marked the highest loadings on each component (Table 4).
Doing so reduced the length of interviews while still obtaining valid data.  (Pollnac et al. 2015). Two other job satisfaction questions: "Would you advise a young person to enter fishing?" and "Would you still fish if you had your life to live over?" were also used as job satisfaction indicators and previously used by Pollnac and others. Responses to these two questions were coded as yes, no, maybe.

Additional Questions
In order to further measure individuals perceptions of the future of their personal fishing business and their attachment to the industry, additional questions were added to the survey. These additional questions included structured survey questions and open ended style questions. These questions included if they see themselves fishing in the short term, medium term, long term and: "if you were offered a job that promised you an income greater than you are making from fishing, would you leave fishing for that job?" If respondents answered Yes, they were asked: "If you were offered a job that promised you the same income that you are making from fishing now, would you leave fishing for that job? Why?" To understand changes throughout time, fishermen were asked how their income from fishing now compares to what it was when they first began fishing on a Likert scale: Significantly lower; lower; same; higher; significantly higher. Also asked were two open ended questions: "What has been the biggest change(s) in the 39 fishing industry?" and "Have regulations had an impact on your family? How?" These questions were coded according to categories of responses.

Analyses
Results from survey questions were analyzed using statistical tests for the appropriate measure levels using SYSTAT statistical software. The answers to the open ended questions were coded and analyzed using MAXQDA qualitative data analysis software.

CHAPTER 4 ANALYSES AND RESULTS
This chapter presents analyses of the data obtained through the use of surveys as discussed in the previous chapter. This chapter provides information necessary to evaluate the research hypotheses.

Age and Education
The average age of the respondents for both ports was 46 (SD= 10.1). The average education level in years for New Bedford was 11.8 and Point Judith 12.9.
Average age did not differ significantly between both ports (t= -0.439, df= 90, p>0.05), but a comparison between average years of formal education showed statistically significant variations between New Bedford and Point Judith (12.9 versus 11.8 respectively, t = 2.537, df = 90, p<0.05, pooled variance). Basic statistics for age and education for both ports separately and combined is shown in Table 5. For statistical purposes, age groups that are used below in further analyses to examine differences between younger and older fishermen were developed by splitting groups above and below the total sample mean of 45.6. See Table 6 for the distribution of each age group.

Residency
The majority of the sample (67%) lived in the same state they fished in but in a different town. Out of the 41 respondents in New Bedford, 34% lived in the city.
Forty-eight percent of respondents lived in Massachusetts but in a different town or city and the remainder lived out of state (8%

Fishing experience
All fishermen interviewed had an overall average of 27 years fishing experience (SD=10.68). Respondents had an average of 22.05 years experience in their current port and 8.06 years fishing on their current boat. Table 7 shows the years of fishing experience for each port and both ports combined, as well as years of experience in their current port and on their current vessel.

Family involvement in fishing
The average number of generations involved in fishing for the total sample was 2.

Fishery position
For both ports combined, the position with the highest total (n=30) was 'captain/owners' and 'captain' (n=27), followed by 'crew/mate' (n=17). Table 9 shows the distribution between positions in each port and Figure 2 shows a visual distribution of the positions in each port.   Table 10 shows the younger and older age groups divided into each age group and position. The data shows more 'captain/owners' that are above 45 (n=20) than 45 and below (n=7) in both ports. There are also more older generation 'captain' respondents (n=19) than there are younger (n=8). There are more respondents that are 'crew' and 'mate' that are 45 and below (n=22) than above 45 (n=13). Differences between age groups for position were statistically significant ( 6.490, df = 2, p<0.05).

Primary species fished
The primary species fished varied by port. Tables 11 and 12

Number of species targeted
The total number of species targeted varied by port. The distribution of the number of species by each port is shown below (Table 13). Differences between ports were statistically significant (t = 3.821, df = 86, p<0.001) as more fishermen in New Bedford target only one species than Point Judith (51.2 and 10.6% respectively). The majority of Point Judith (89.4%) target at least two or more species.

Gear type
Over half of the respondents mentioned nets as their primary gear type, followed by dredge. The distribution of primary gear types is shown in  There was more net gear mentioned in Point Judith than in New Bedford (66.7 and 34.1% respectively) as well as traps (25.5 and 7.3% respectively). Differences in gear type by port were statistically significant ( 33.048, df= 2, p<0.001).
Differences were found in age groups with dredge gear having a higher percentage (54%) for the older generation; results however were not statistically significant ( 5.452, df = 2, p>0.05). Distribution of gear by age group can be found in Appendix V.

Sector management
More respondents from Point Judith belonged to a sector than New Bedford (73.3 and 34.1% respectively). The distribution of answers are shown in Table 15.

Crew size
The average crew size in Point Judith was lower than New Bedford (2.8 and 5.33 respectively). Both ports combined had an average of 4.1 crew. The differences 49 between ports were statistically significant (t= -7.722, df=77, p<0.01, pooled variance). Table 16 shows the basic statistics for crew size for each port and both combined.

Trip length
The average trip length in days was also lower in Point Judith than New Bedford (3.3 and 7.9 days respectively). The differences between both ports was statistically significant (t= -6.477, df=89, p<0.001, pooled variance). Table 17 shows the basic statistics for trip length for each port and both ports combined.

Income from fishing
Fishermen were asked to give their annual income from fishing using the 2010 census categories shown below in Table 18 with their corresponding codes. The 50 average income code for the total sample was 10.9 (SD=3.51), which falls between the census income categories $50,000-59,999 and $60,000-$74,999 per year. Table 19 shows basic statistics for each port and both ports combined for annual income. New Bedford income was higher than Point Judith (mean census code of 12.8 and 9.55 respectively) with the port falling between the census category $75,000-$90,000 and $100,000-$124,999 per year and Point Judith between $45,000-$44,999 and $50,000-$59,999. A non-parametric Mann-Whitney U test shows a statistically significant difference between the two ports (U=433.5, df= 1, p<0.001).

Income categories by age group
The distribution (N) of both age groups by port and income category is shown below (Figure 3). The blue (</= 45) and red (>45) both represent Point Judith, RI.
The green (</=45) and purple (>45) represent New Bedford, MA. The figure shows there are more fishermen in the lower income categories in Point Judith than there are in New Bedford for all ages. There are also more respondents in the younger generation in the lower income categories for Point Judith than there are in the higher income categories. In New Bedford however, the younger generation has more respondents in the higher income categories than in the lower categories. For the total sample, using the Mann-Whitney U test, there was no statistically significant difference between age groups and income categories (U= 905.5, df = 1, p>0.05).
52 Figure 4. The total number of respondents for each income category by age group for each port separately.

Income categories by gear type
Income categories by gear type showed statistically significant differences between gear type and income using Kruskall-Wallis test ( = 34.290, p<0.001). Table 20 shows Basic Statistics of the three gear types for each income Census category (shown in Table 18). The mean for dredge gear (Mean=14.4) was higher than both nets and traps (Mean= 10.1 and 8.9 respectively).

Job Satisfaction variables
The nine item job satisfaction scale developed by Pollnac et al. (2014) Table 21.  Table 22 for the difference in means of the three components for each age group.

Job satisfaction and ports
The two ports studied were compared across the three job satisfaction components. Both ports presented similar mean values with their levels of job satisfaction for each component and results of the two sample T-tests were not statistically significant for all three components of job satisfaction. Table 23 shows the means for each component for both ports and test results.  Figure 4 shows the three job satisfaction components and the mean for each gear types.
. Figure 5. Distribution of the mean for each gear type and component of job satisfaction

Additional job satisfaction questions
In addition to the job satisfaction component scale, fishermen were asked about their willingness to become a fisherman if they had their lives to live over and   Another question asked to understand fishermen's attachment to the industry, was about their willingness to leave given the opportunity to have a job that pays more than fishing. More respondents stated they would leave fishing if they were given a 57 job that had greater income than fishing (44.9% for both ports). There were 43.3% of respondents in Point Judith that said they would leave fishing and the same percentage said "maybe/depends." More people in New Bedford said they would not leave fishing for income that is greater (28.2%) than Point Judith (13.3%). Difference between ports ( = 3.347, df= 2, p>0.05), age groups ( = 4.800, df=2, p>0.05), and gear groups ( = 4.408, df = 4.0, p>0.05) were not statistically significant. Table 26 gives the distribution of responses by port. The distribution of the responses by age group and gear type can be found in Appendix VI. For those who answered yes or maybe/depends to the above question they were then asked "If you were offered a job that promised you the same income that you are making from fishing now, would you leave fishing for that job?" Point Judith had an even split between yes, no and maybe/depend. New Bedford had the majority of participants answer yes, they would leave fishing for the same income (Table 27).

Factor analysis
The twelve resilience statements developed by  and presented in Chapter III were asked to each fisherman. The number (N) for each response to the twelve statements is shown in Table 28.   where the variables were reduced into four components. Table 29 shows the factor loadings for all resilience variables and the highest loadings for each variable are highlighted. Factor loadings above 0.40 were assigned to the factor on which they loaded highest. There were a few differences with the results found in . The variables "I can cope with small changes in the industry" was grouped with the components of Perception of Risk in ; "I have planned for my financial security" and "I am more likely to adapt to change compared to other fishers" was grouped in The Ability to Plan, learn and reorganize. Lastly, the variable "I am interested in learning new skills outside of the industry" formed a single variable component in the study done by Marshall and Marshall (2007) under their Interest in adapting to change" and was grouped here under the Adaptation to change: the ability to plan, learn and reorganize. Factor scores were computed using SYSTAT and were used for further analysis below.

Resilience and age groups
To test the hypothesis that resilience levels differ between the younger and older generation, the age groups were compared with each of the three resilience components. Both age groups presented similar mean values in their levels of resilience and none of the factors of resilience presented statistical significant results suggesting there is no difference in the respondent level of resilience between age groups (Table 30).

Resilience and ports
Both ports studied were compared on their levels of resilience for each of the three components. Both ports presented similar mean values and the results of a two sample T-test showed no significant difference between the ports for each component of resilience. The mean values for each port and resilience component is shown in Table 31.

Resilience and gear types
The different gear types were also compared with the three components of resilience ( Figure 5). The three gear types as presented in job satisfaction analyses, (1) net, (2) trap, and (3) dredge were shown to have statistically significant difference for the Ability to Cope component (f=5.175, df = 88, p<0.01. Post hoc analyses showed statistically significant differences between net and dredge gear (p=0.025, p<0.05).

Additional resilience questions
To understand participants' ability to sustain their business into the future, they were asked "do you see yourself still fishing in the short, medium, or long term." The majority of participants still saw themselves fishing in the long term for both ports combined (61%). Results of Mann-Whitney U analysis of variance test shows no statistical significance between age groups and the short, medium, or long term responses (U= 682.0, df= 1, p >0.05. Analysis was also performed between port and gear type with no statistical difference also shown for both (U=598.5, df= 1, p>0.05 Least Squares Means 62 and = 5.613, df = 2, p>0.05 respectively). A distribution of responses by age group can be seen in Table 32 and distribution by port and gear type in Appendix VII. Respondents were asked their reasoning for the choice they made to the above question. The most common response for those that answered in the short term was 'changes in industry/regulations/harder to make a living' (N=7, 53.8%). The most common response for medium term was 'age/retirement/physical health/doing it too long' (N=5, 45.5%) and 'changes in industry/regulations/harder to make a living' (N=4, 36.4%). For those that answered long term, the most common response was "All I know/My life" (N=11, 28.9%) with 'like it/enjoy it" and 'provides good income/provide for family' the second most common responses (N=7, 18.4%). A distribution of all responses by age group can be found in Appendix VII.
Fishermen were also asked if regulations had an influence on their family and how. The majority (71%) said that regulations do influence their family and the number one reason why they do is 'income' (72%) with 'stress to family/personal health' being the second most mentioned (15%).
Fishermen were asked how their income from fishing now compares to what it was when they first began fishing. Participants were asked on a scale of 1-5; from significantly lower, lower, same, higher, significantly higher. The distribution of responses for each port are shown in Table 33. Point Judith fishermen had a lower mean average for responses than New Bedford fishermen (Mean=2.5 and 3.7 respectively). A Mann-Whitney U test showed statistically significant differences between ports (U=318.5, df = 1, p<0.01). Responses did not have statistically significant differences between age groups (U= 515.5, df = 1, p>0.05). However, the results between gear groups did show statistically significant differences ( = 33.881, df = 2, p<0.001). Distribution of those results are shown in Table 34. Almost half (49%) of those fishing net gear mentioned a decrease in income since they began fishing on the significantly lower or lower scale. Just over 90% of dredge fishermen said their income increased since they began fishing, with 74% saying significantly higher. When asked if fishermen keep up to date on fishery issues/ changes, 78.3% said yes. Those that do keep up to date were asked to choose from a list all the sources of information they use. The most popular response was magazines (67%) and the least mentioned response was internet (14.4%).
Fishermen were asked 'what has been the biggest change in the fishing industry since you began fishing. The number one change for both the younger and older generation was 'regulations' (73%). New technology/modernization was mentioned as a major change by the older generation, but not the younger. The majority of people that mentioned 'Environmental/Species Changes/ Climate Change' were from the older generation. Despite some of these differences, results were not statistically significant between age groups (U=318.5, df = 7, p>0.05). The number of responses for each category by age group can be found in Appendix VIII.

Correlation between variables
Pearson Correlation analysis was used to understand the relationship between the various independent variables and fishery variables and the dependent resilience variables: Perceptions of Risk, Ability to Cope, and Ability to Adapt. Results of the analysis for the total sample are shown in Table 35. Perception of Risk was correlated with the "age" variable (but not with the age dichotomy) and "fishing experience." There was a significant correlation between the Ability to Cope and "Crew size," "Income," "Income change," "Advise young," and "Basic Needs" variables. The Adaptation to Change variable was significantly correlated with "Fish if you had your life to live over" variable only.

Between port differences in correlations
A Pearson's correlation matrix shows differences between Point Judith and New Bedford. Table 36 shows results for Point Judith. The Ability to Cope is correlated with "Annual Income," "Income change," "Advise Young," and "Basic Needs." Adaptation to Change is correlated with "Age," "Age groups," "Advise young to enter fishing," "Fish if had life to live over," "Social and Psychological Needs," and "Basic Needs."  Table 37 shows correlations between the resilience variables and independent variables for the port of New Bedford. There are statistically significantly correlations between Perception of Risk and "Sector Involvement," "Number of species targeted," "Social and Psychological Needs," and "Basic Needs." The Ability to Cope had statistically significant correlations between the "Crew Size," "Number of species targeted," "Annual Income," "Advise young to enter fishing," and "Basic Needs."

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS
This final chapter provides a discussion of the results presented in the previous chapter together with discussion of the research question and hypotheses that were the basis of the present study. Other important findings are also presented in this chapter and conclusions drawn from the findings throughout this study.

Primary Findings
The findings in this study provide interesting insights on issues involving the perceived social impacts of fisheries management and how fishermen of different age groups and generations perceive they would handle change. Two ports were studied, both found to have differing characteristics, which can allow better understanding of how management changes affect fishing communities.

Perceptions of Management
The biggest change that fishermen have seen in the industry for both the younger and older generation was 'regulations' (73%). Impacts from regulations were perceived to negatively influence families in 71% of the sample with 'income' (72%) being the biggest impact. In Pollnac et al. (2011)

Hypothesis I
The first hypothesis developed in this study states that younger fishermen perceive themselves to be able to adapt more than the older generation of fishermen.
It was predicted that the younger generation is entering an industry during a different time and political state of the fishery than those who have fished for decades and have had to adjust to the management intervention of fishery resources. Therefore, their perceptions on their ability to adapt may have been more positive to management changes. This hypothesis cannot be confirmed for the total sample through the resilience survey results, as there was no statistical difference overall between the 71 younger (</= 45 years of age) and older (>45 years of age) fishermen and their ability to adapt using the  resilience scale.
Although age and adaptability literature is mixed on whether people of different ages adapt differently, there are a number of studies that have found no correlation with age and adaptability (McCrae 1982, Billings & Moos 1981, Folkman & Lazarus 1980, Ilfield 1980, O'Connell et al 2008. Rogers (2003) discusses adaptability to an 'innovation' or an "idea, practice or object that is perceived as new by an individual" (Rogers 2003:12). Studies analyzed by the author found that earlier adopters are no different from later adopters in age. There were a few studies within Rogers (2003) that found earlier adopters are younger and some indicated they were older but overall the relationship of age was inconsistent.
Although results of the subjective resilience scale ) did not show differences in age, results of correlation analysis showed the According to the literature reviewed of Zacher (2014), an individual's ability to align themselves with the environment decreases with age, however older individuals compensate with this by enhancing the desire to do so which in turn increases selfesteem, control, and confidence over time. This is one finding that could explain the more positive perceptions on the ability to cope and adapt to changes as older fishermen perceive uncontrollable factors (aging) as putting them at higher risk in their ability to adapt, but have confidence they can still remain adaptable.
The mean age in the present study was 46.7 years. O'Connell et al (2008) argue that those born in the Gen X generation, between 1965 and 1981, differ from those born in previous generations such as the Silent Generation or Baby Boomers.
For those born in the Gen X generation, the age of the individual would roughly be between 35 and 51. This age group encompasses almost 50% of the sample in the present study. It is suggested that they entered the work force during a time when they expected to make several considerable changes in their employment or career direction. This could be one explanation for the high levels of resilience.

Hypothesis II
The second hypothesis in this study states that fishermen's perception of resilience is different between fishery gear type. Analysis of this variable was used by measuring the three main gear types -net, trap, and dredge. The resilience variable Ability to Cope was shown to have differences between dredge and net gear, where those who fished with dredge gear felt they could cope with changes more than net fishermen.
In addition to these findings, 91% of dredge fishermen mentioned their income has increased since they began fishing. This finding suggests that income may be a contributing factor to the findings that dredge fishermen perceive they are more able to adapt. Looking at data between 1997-2006, there was a significant increase in value for scallops. Groundfish in the same time period saw a decrease in value (NOAA 2014). Therefore, the differences between net and dredge gear fisheries are expected with almost half of net fishermen stating their income has decreased since they began fishing.

Hypothesis III
The third hypothesis developed states that differences between ports may influence the relationships between variables included in the first two hypotheses. As discussed above, significant differences were found between both ports. These relationship differences such as income levels, principal species, gear type, etc., may influence relationships between the resilience variables and age.

74
For Point Judith alone, through correlation analysis, an increase in age in years showed an increase in Adaptation to change. Additionally, those who perceived higher levels of Adaptation to change were more likely to advise a young person to enter the fishing occupation and would fish if they had their life to live over.
The average years involved in fishing for Point Judith was 27. Therefore, the majority of the sample has been through some of the most significant management changes in fisheries for almost three decades. As the concept of resilience in social- where many ports saw a decrease in active vessels and fleet consolidation directly after implementation (Brinson and Thunberg 2013). Point Judith has a more diverse list of species landed in the port and fewer vessels fish species in the groundfish management species complex under sector management than New Bedford. In the present study, nearly 90% of vessels in Point Judith fish at least two or more species; with up to 11 species were mentioned. Therefore it could be argued that there were fewer negative influences to fishermen with the implementation of catch share management to the Multispecies (groundfish) industry in Point Judith because of their diversity and alternatively a possible explanation for the fishermen's positive perceived adaptation.
In New Bedford, there were no correlations between age and the resilience variables. An increase in crew size however, shows a higher level of fishermen's Ability to Adapt. This is expected with the larger, more corporate shore owner vessels in New Bedford that generate more income. There was a negative correlation between the numbers of species targeted and Perception of Risk and Ability to Cope. This was also expected as New Bedford has a low number of species targeted with the majority (51%) being a single species, scallops. Based on the sample, dredge fishermen perceived themselves to have higher levels of resilience even if they fish for primarily one species. If the market or scallop population were to decrease for any number of reasons the results in this study suggest they could have devastating influences to fishermen's perceived resilience in New Bedford as they aren't as diverse in the number of species they are fishing. Many studies have shown the importance of 'within-fishing diversification' (portfolio theory) in creating a buffering mechanism in 76 the face of change (Schindler et al. 2010, Minnegal andDwyer 2008). Kasperski and Holland (2013) investigated income diversification and risk among U.S. West Coast and Alaskan fishermen and concluded that vessels that are able to diversify across multiple resources can reduce income variation and associated financial risk. Policy strategies in the U.S., however, are not aimed at maintaining fisheries diversity (Whitmarsh 1998, Sethi 2010).
An interesting result for income by age group was the younger generation's differences between both ports. In Point Judith, the younger generation's annual income peaked at $40-$59,000 and New Bedford at $100,000-$199,999. The differences between age groups and positions were also statistically significant in that there are more younger fishermen that are crew than older. In New Bedford, 60% of the total sample were crew members.
Despite the many differences in ports, particularly the higher income levels in New Bedford, both ports saw a positive correlation between income levels and the Ability to Cope. With income proven to be an important factor in resilience in both ports, the explanation for no significant differences in age and adaptability in New Bedford can be related to the fact that younger fishermen there are making significantly higher incomes than the younger generation in Point Judith.

Job Satisfaction findings
There were notable differences in job satisfaction by age group, as the older generation of fishermen scored higher for Self-Actualization and Social and Psychological Needs components, stating that they were more satisfied with the variables in these two components which include: adventure, challenge, opportunity to be their own boss, and time spent away from home, physical fatigue, and healthfulness of the job. innovative ways to make things work for them in the past few decades and feel confident doing so in the future are likely to be more satisfied with these two variables.

Attachment to fishing
Two questions focused on measuring fishermen's attachment to the industry.
The first, "Would you still fish if you had your life to live over?" showed majority of fishermen (70%) would fish if they had their life to live over. This finding, combined with the similar levels of job satisfaction shown between both ports strengthens the argument discussed in the literature that fishermen have high levels of attachment to fishing Poggie 2008, Gatewood andMcCay 1990).
Another attachment to industry question asked was if fishermen would leave fishing for a job that promised greater income than fishing. For the overall sample, 45% stated they would leave fishing, 22% would not, and 33% said maybe. There were more negative responses (would not leave fishing) in New Bedford than Point Judith. For those that said they would leave, they were then asked if they would leave fishing for a job with the same income. Only 24% of the sample reported they would 79 leave fishing if offered a job outside of fishing with the same income. Many fishermen stated the reasons they would not leave was because they "liked it [fishing]" or "liked being their own boss," coinciding with Self-Actualization variable of job satisfaction.
Given that the majority of fishermen said 'no' or 'maybe/depends' (55%) to leaving fishing, it is likely that fishermen would be reluctant to leave the occupation of fishing despite adversity (Crawford 2002). The same was true for the question "Do you see yourself fishing in the short, medium, long term." This question was asked to understand fishermen's perceived ability to sustain their business into the future. The majority (61%) stated "long term" and "All I know/My Life" and "Like it/enjoy it" were the top responses when asked why.
It is possible that fishermen who have been in the industry through the past few decades of management change see the challenge of being resilient and adaptive as a part of the business today. The fishing industry has seen a decrease in the number of vessels throughout the country including these two Southern New England ports.
Therefore, for those who have survived the changes and maintained their livelihood this long, by nature they have a desire to be innovative and maintain adaptability.
Many fishermen stated that fishermen are adaptable and they "find a way to make it work." One question to think about further is if survival, as in job security and maintaining livelihood, is the 'new' challenge and adventure of the job in today's fisheries.

Other potentially important findings
According to Rogers (2003), a generalization about earlier adopters of a new idea or practice is that they have greater exposure to communication channels and 80 mass media. The vast majority of the sample in the present study keeps up to date with fishery issues (78%). The most popular way in which fishermen keep up to date was magazines (67%). The theory that the more communication and involvement in issues, the more likely you are to adopt a new idea or practice, could be another explanation as to the high levels of resilience in the study sample.
Examining age of fishermen in fisheries brought up some unanticipated findings other than the level of resilience. One concern that was discussed by fishermen was the lack of young people entering into the fishery today. The distribution of the younger and older generation based on the mean age of the entire sample, showed a higher sample size in the older generation versus the younger (59 and 41% respectively). This idea of an aging trend in fisheries, known in the literature as the "graying of the fleet" was brought up mostly by the younger generation of fishermen. The aging of current industry participants in studies on natural resource-dependent communities is found throughout the literature (Hamilton and Otterstad 1998, Yagi 2006, West and Hovelsrud 2010, Donkersloot 2006, Russel et al. 2014, Donkersloot and Carothers 2016. Evidence of an aging fisheries workforce and low rates of recruitment of young people has increased concern about the ability for fisheries to be sustainable and attract the next generation (PFMC 2013, Russell et al. 2014 According to Rosvold (2006) the higher entry costs due to limited entry approaches to fishery management can also advance the aging of the fleet trend. The ongoing decline in the number of small-scale fishing operations (Andreatta and Parlier 2010) has created shifts in the attractiveness of fishery-related jobs (Pascoe et al. 2015).
Another interesting finding was when asked what they perceive to be the biggest change impacting fishermen today, responses showed a few differences between age groups. New technology and modernization was unique to the older generation and those that stated 'environmental/species changes/climate change' were mostly those in the older generation. Sample sizes were small for these findings, however further research could investigate generational differences in perceptions of changes.
Findings described in the present study allow understanding of Southern New England fishermen's perception of their ability to cope and adapt to management changes. Results suggest that income and monetary gains play a very important role in fishermen's perception of their ability to adapt and cope with changes. Correlations between levels of job satisfaction, particularly the basic needs suggests that a decrease in income could result in lower levels of perceived ability to adapt to changes and a decrease in resilience. Needs throughout the years. As some of the levels of subjective resilience used in this study were positively correlated with these job satisfaction variables, there could also be a decrease in subjective resilience for both ports over time. As  suggest, influences on well-being and overall perception of the ability to adapt can be associated with fishermen's willingness to comply and cooperate in the management process. Therefore it is in the interest of policy-makers to maximize resilience among fishermen.

Research done by
The results of the present study and future studies alike can be helpful in making policy decisions in fisheries. By looking at the difference in adaptability by age and gear type, managers can understand how the individuals involved will be influenced by continuously changing management policies. For those in the older generation, considerations on their ability to secure work elsewhere and remain competitive in the workforce are important to reduce the level of risk fishermen have on new policies. Creating programs through policies that allow job re-training or skills needed to remain resilient in fishing could provide assistance. For those ports where fishermen perceive they are more confident in the ability to adapt, understanding what factors contribute to their higher levels of resilience can also be beneficial to policy makers when enacting future regulations. Fishermen and policy makers can learn from others who have been innovative, resilient, and have sustained successful businesses. Those in New Bedford showed higher levels of perceived resiliency, however, policy makers should understand potential influences to vulnerability into the future as scallop fishermen and business owners in New Bedford could have critical impacts to their livelihoods if the state of that fishery should change.
Diversification within the literature, along with findings in the present study, have shown to be an important influence in levels of perceived resilience and vulnerability.
Incorporating management practices that encourage fishermen to maintain diversity could increase sustainable businesses, open up more opportunities for the next generation of young fishermen, and maintain livelihoods that have been important to these ports for generations.

Conclusions
This study was designed with the main objective of responding to the following research question: Have management practices affected the resilience of New England fishermen by limiting their perceived ability to adapt to changes in both young and older fishers? In order to answer this research question, 92 fishermen in Point Judith, Rhode Island and New Bedford, Massachusetts were approached in their ports and agreed to participate in face-to-face surveys. Data from these surveys was dichotomized into an older and younger generation based on the mean age. To measure participants' level of perceived resilience, the  indicator for subjective individual resilience was used to study their perceived risk, ability to cope and ability to adapt to changes in management.
Results show that fishermen perceived themselves to have the same level of resilience in both age groups. There was not strong enough evidence to say that one generation is more adaptable than the other. However, results of correlation analysis, which examines this relationship on a finer scale than the simple dichotomy, showed the Perception of Risk component was negatively correlated with age. The older in age, the greater the perceptions of perceived risk, which includes options available outside of fishing, confidence in getting work outside of fishing, and nervousness trying something outside of fishing. This finding holds true with the aging literature where there are circumstances, such as aging, that may limit adaptation. However, there were no correlations between age and perceived ability to cope and adapt to change. This contrasts with the literature that suggests the older generation has more desire to align themselves with the environment so confidence is increased over time, which explains their perceived ability to adapt and cope with changes. Given fishermen in the present study have been involved in fishing for an average of 27 years, participants have adjusted their fishing businesses throughout the past few decades. They have had to continuously adapt and change to the new policies. The idea that they are still able to fish and make a living, although some of the participants have seen a decrease in income, the fact they are still fishing today may increase their perception and confidence of adaptation even as they get older. Therefore, results of the present analyses to test the hypothesis that younger fishermen are more adaptable than older fishermen are inconclusive.
The most obvious differences in perceptions of fishermen's ability to cope was shown between fishing gear groups. Those that fish using dredge gear have higher average subjective resilience scores than those that fish net gear. Almost all of dredge fishermen (91%) stated they have experienced an increase in income since they began fishing. They also had the highest level of income with average of $125,000-$149,000. Almost all dredge fishermen were in New Bedford. As such, there were significant differences between both ports which may have limited the ability to capture true individual subjective resilience in fishermen by use of the resilience scale.
The  scale may have been too general or too simplified for fishermen to truly express their perceived level of resilience. This study did not capture in depth the rationale behind fishermen's perceptions of change in management, but the results obtained do suggest opportunities for further investigation regarding New England's fishermen's perceptions of change. A more in depth study of fishermen's perceptions of management changes could provide more significant results.
Another limitation to this study was the sampling of fishermen within different fishing sectors. As found in the analysis, New Bedford's scallop industry has a much higher level of resilience given the lucrative nature of the fishery. Those that fished trap gear had lower sample sizes so it was difficult to reach any conclusions on 86 perceived differences in resilience in that sector. It would be interesting to expand the sample size in one or all fisheries to see if that would uncover resilience differences between age groups. Another interesting perspective in the aging and adaptability literature was multiple generations reacting differently to changes. By expanding the sample size, it may also be possible to examine more age categories such as younger, The results of this study serve to further illustrate the complexity of measuring subjective resilience in fisheries, but it can be used to initiate further research based on the findings. As shown in the present study, fishery sectors have very different characteristics that can impact their ability to adapt to changes in the industry.
Showing these differences allows understanding on how management measures may impact individuals in various ways and how to ensure that negative influences are minimized within fishing communities. There are few studies that examine subjective resilience by age groups, but the importance of the issue should be considered in the future as people are aging out of the industry with low levels of recruitment. It is critical for the future of fisheries in New England to not only have a younger generation entering, but one that is able to cope and adapt to future policy changes.

APPENDIX VII
Do you see yourself fishing in the short, medium or long term by port: