Step 5 resulted in a list of actions that could be taken to address current and potential climate impacts and support resilience for the fishery. However, they differ in their potential effectiveness at achieving goals, feasibility of implementation, and time frames for implementation. In Step 6, the focus is on prioritizing potential actions while considering numerous factors that influence their feasibility.

Some useful considerations are things like the economic, social, and ecological costs of an action; technical, financial and institutional capacity (or barriers) to carry out an action; community support for an action; and equity implications. As conditions that influence the feasibility of taking any action are unique to particular fisheries systems, the factors considered should be determined by participants involved in the planning process. The Step 6 workbook helps you to brainstorm the feasibility of implementing certain actions as you work to identify priority actions for your system.

Prioritization of actions will be influenced by both their importance in achieving goals, addressing climate impacts, and enhancing resilience as well as the feasibility of implementation. High priority actions would include those that are expected to be feasible and effective at supporting fishery goals and reducing climate impacts. After considering the feasibility of the set of identified actions, are there any that seem like they might be near-term priorities? Ultimately, whether to pursue an action in the near- or longer-term will depend on the urgency of the need and whether enabling conditions exist to support implementation. Thinking about whether there are dependencies between actions could suggest a logical sequencing of multiple actions.

Through the use of this tool, users will develop a list of potential actions that could be taken to improve climate resilience in their fishery system based on careful consideration of fishery goals, potential climate impacts, and resilience attributes. Using this information, stakeholders can collaborate with one another and work with key decision-makers to formalize a climate-resilience plan for the fishery.