OST is excited to share our newest report, Co-Designing a Safety Net: Workshop Summary and Collaborative Steps Toward Innovative West Coast Fisheries Insurance in a Changing Climate, summarizing discussion and ideas from a recent workshop and outlining from those ideas what it might look like to develop an innovative insurance product for West Coast fisheries facing climate shocks.
As fisheries grow increasingly vulnerable to disasters arising from climate change impacts, there is rising interest and need to explore new risk management tools, particularly insurance, to provide timely financial aid to impacted fishermen. Conversations at the OST-hosted workshop confirmed a strong interest among participants in developing fisheries insurance for the West Coast and to establish a multi-sector working group to collaboratively develop a pilot insurance product. In our report, we summarize discussions and ideas from the workshop as well as outline the steps that could be taken toward developing an insurance product for West Coast fisheries including development phases, key partners and their roles, and the establishment of a multi-sector working group (see 2-Pager for quick breakdown of phases). The development process proposed covers four key phases:
- Research and Assessment of Need (understanding risks, stakeholder needs, and reviewing existing models)
- Product Design and Feasibility (convening a cross-sectoral working group to define product types, triggers, and conduct actuarial analysis)
- Pilot and Refinement (testing the product in selected fisheries/communities, securing funding, and monitoring performance)
- Scaling and Integration (expanding successful pilots, refining products, and integrating insurance into broader resilience strategies).
The development of a fisheries insurance product could bolster financial and risk management tools available to fishermen, ultimately increasing economic resilience under a changing climate. While innovative insurance is one tool in the resilience toolbox and much more work remains to actually develop a viable product for West Coast fisheries, OST will continue to explore science-based options to build climate resilience in California’s fisheries.
