Abstract

Coastal ecosystems face multiple stressors, and their responses are magnified by global stressors associated with climate change, such as warming and ocean acidification (OA). Oyster farming are vulnerable to the effects of these stressors. Environmental monitoring technologies have been proposed as an adaptive strategy to OA. This study examined the perceptions of the oyster farmers in Bahia San Quintin, Mexico, toward this strategy. Through surveys and workshops, we identified the main challenges oyster farmers face in their industry, their level of awareness about OA, and their openness to adopting new technologies. Most respondents (66 %) did not recognize OA, which suggests that they had a low perception of its risks and its potential consequences for their activities. The most frequent problems were environmental issues (48 %), such as extreme temperature events, biofouling, and predation, followed by limited technical and financial resources (34 %). Recognizing the negative effect that high temperatures have on their activity, especially during El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events, is a positive outcome, as it allows them to adopt strategies to cope with OA. The main barriers to adopt new technologies were related to management issues (56 %), including a lack of economic resources. We recommend that interactions between oyster producers, academia, and governmental actors must be strengthened to promote environmental monitoring, thus improving their adaptive capacity and reducing potential impacts of stressors on their industry, such as climate change and OA. This study case is a valuable reference for other oyster farming communities in similar environmental and socio-economic contexts.