Investigating people’s levels of subjective vulnerability to change can help elucidate important aspects of adaptive capacity to impacts. This is particularly relevant in coastal communities with high exposure to natural disasters, such as those in the Caribbean region, especially given projections of increased frequency and severity of storms as a consequence of climate change. In this study, Puerto Rican fishers’ perceptions of the effects of climate change on their fishing activity were compared before and after two major hurricanes severely impacted the island in the fall of 2017. Data was collected through the use of surveys conducted in 12 different fishing communities in Puerto Rico at two different time periods: pre-storms (August 2016 – January 2017) (N = 212) and post-storms (May – June 2018) (N = 75). Results show that fishers demonstrated higher concern in the post-storms period for climate change in general as well as for other environmental changes attributed to climate change, particularly the impacts of storms and increased air temperature. Our analyses also investigate factors influencing fishers’ concerns about climate change. Comparisons between fishers’ perceptions in the pre- and post-storms periods allow for an increased understanding of the impacts of extreme events on fishers’ subjective vulnerability to climate change and other environmental transformations. These changes in perception are likely to influence fishers’ future adaptative behavior and they provide opportunities for the implementation of collaborative strategies to increase awareness of climate change impacts and develop strategies to maximize climate change resilience in fishing communities.

调查人们对变化的主观脆弱性水平可以帮助阐明适应影响的重要方面。在加勒比地区等自然灾害风险高的沿海社区，这一点尤其重要，特别是考虑到由于气候变化而导致暴风雨的频率和严重性增加的预测。在这项研究中，比较了波多黎各渔民对气候变化对其捕捞活动影响的看法，在2017年秋季发生两次重大飓风严重影响该岛之前和之后。通过使用在12种不同捕鱼中进行的调查收集了数据波多黎各的两个不同时期：暴风雨前（2016年8月– 2017年1月）（N = 212）和暴风雨后（2018年5月– 2018年6月）（N = 75）。结果表明，渔民在暴风雨后期间对气候变化以及由气候变化引起的其他环境变化，特别是风暴和气温升高的影响，表现出更高的关注度。我们的分析还调查了影响渔民对气候变化的担忧的因素。在暴风雨前和暴风雨后期间，渔民的看法之间的比较使人们对极端事件对渔民主观易受气候变化和其他环境转变的影响的了解有了更多的了解。