The COVID-19 pandemic transformed social and economic systems globally, including fisheries systems. Decreases in seafood demand, supply chain disruptions, and public safety regulations required numerous adaptations to maintain the livelihoods and social resilience of fishing communities. Surveys, interviews, and focus groups were undertaken to assess impacts from and adaptive responses to the pandemic in commercial fisheries in five U.S. regions: the Northeast, California, Alaska, the U.S. Caribbean, and the Pacific Islands. Fishery adaptation strategies were categorized using the (RAD) framework, a novel application to understand social transformation in a social-ecological system in response to a disturbance. A number of innovations emerged, or were facilitated, that could improve the fisheries' resilience to future disruptions. Fishers with diversified options and strategic flexibility generally fared better, i.e., had fewer disruptions to their livelihoods. Using the RAD framework to identify adaptation strategies from fishery system actors highlights opportunities for improving resilience of fisheries social-ecological systems to future stressors.

Understanding the population structure of tropical anguillids residing in the Pacific is vital for their conservation management. Here, the population genetic structure of five sympatric freshwater eels ( Quoy & Gaimard, Kaup, Steindachner, Günther and Richardson) across 11 western South Pacific (WSP) islands was investigated based on partial nucleotide sequences of the mtDNA control region and the nuclear GTH2b genes of 288 newly collected samples jointly with existing sequences. WSP anguillids are characterised by overall high levels of genetic diversity. Both mtDNA and nuclear sequences provided no evidence for distinct geographic clines or barriers in any of the species across the WSP. The occurrence of admixed individuals between and was confirmed, and a new possible occurrence of a further species was revealed ( Whitley on Bougainville Island). All species showed evidence for demographic population growth in the Pleistocene, and a subsequent population reduction for . Common spawning grounds and mixing of larvae by ocean currents could promote the lack of pronounced isolation by distance, a finding that has significant implications for the future management of anguillids in the area.