Pollnac is a coastal human ecologist focusing on understanding and facilitating development and change among fishing people, while maintaining and improving their overall well-being. He has conducted field research, mostly among small-scale fishermen, in coastal communities in East and West Africa, South East Asia, the Pacific Islands, Central and South America, the Caribbean, the Azores, and the Middle East, as well as the USA, including larger scale commercial fishers in the USA Northeast Region, Puget Sound and Alaska. He has published over 150 scientific research articles and book chapters over the past several decades focusing on human technological, social, psychological, biological and ideational adaptations to the marine environment.