Small-scale fisheries (SSF) form complex social-ecological systems that face multiple and difficult challenges, which have afforded opportunities for substantial learning. Young people in SSF, who are essential for long-term sustainability despite their frequent invisibility, can incorporate collective resilience processes into the sector. Implementing the learning communities methodology in regional workshops and semi-structured interviews with youth agents of change, we explored the adaptation options that young people involved in Mexican SSF considered important for resilience, along with the factors that influenced their effective participation in these initiatives. Young people expressed optimism about the potential of 14 adaptation options but emphasized the importance of effective SSF management and the need for reducing environmental impacts, modernizing fisheries value chains, and diversifying economic activities. By taking responsibility as agents of change and promoting adaptation options, young people demonstrated their initiative by organizing autonomous gender-focused groups and mobilizing their organizations and communities toward collective goals. Being limited by gender exclusion, age discrimination, and crime, youth participation in SSF is complex but can be facilitated through education, social organization, cultural values, and identity. To establish themselves in addressing key fisheries challenges, youth require support and encouragement from their families, communities, and cooperatives, as these provide spaces for young people to participate, gain experience, build foundations, and grow into competent professionals. Young people are central to the day-to-day functioning of SSF and to shaping its future. Thus, viewing SSF from a youth perspective is essential for strengthening skills, promoting generational transition, and dignifying fishing activities.
Espinoza-Tenorio et al. (2026) studied this question.