This thesis examines J. H. Todd & Sons Ltd., a British Columbia family-owned and run fish packing company during the years 1881 through 1954. The research presented in this paper outlines the contribution of individual Todd family members to both the success and eventual demise of the company. Also examined is the history of the B. C. salmon canning industry, the evolution of J. H. Todd & Sons Ltd., the role of the company in the broader context of the B. C. fishing industry; and the factors that led to the demise of the company. This thesis relies on documentary primary sources as well as an extensive oral history collection obtained from Todd family members and employees. / Graduate / 0334 / 0509 / 0510 / micfitz@shaw.ca

The FisherPoets Gathering is an annual event where expressive art performed exposes the explicit and implicit gender dynamics of the occupation of commercial fishing. Through these performances, women tackle gender issues that bridge the gap between the fishing industry and the event. Through performance and interactions with fellow female FisherPoets, the women validate themselves as fishermen and comment on the behavior of their male colleagues. These performance-based expressive art forms enable them to address the fishing industry’s gender power dynamics and begin to make social change.

Over the past four years both the media and academia have highlighted the labour conditions and human rights issues prevalent in Thailand’s offshore fishing industry. Even so, little has been written from the perspective of fish workers, and far less is known about fish work in the Southeast Asian region. This thesis contributes to these gaps by exploring the experiences of fish workers in several ports across Thailand and Vietnam, along with former migrant fish workers, to provide insight into labour conditions for fish workers and the risks associated with migration for fish work. To do so, the thesis draws upon four interview data sets involving 40 fish workers (including boat owners and captains) conducted in Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia between 2014-2017, along with a review of the relevant literature on fish work, labour, and migration. After describing the experiences of fish workers in both countries, a number of themes emerge. These include challenges pertaining to recruitment, wages, risks at sea and agency. Each theme is unpacked in turn, to showcase the nuanced experiences of Cambodian fish workers in Thailand and internal migrants in Vietnam, but also to highlight how fish workers navigate complex migration processes. Specific to the Thai context, Derk’s (2010) early work on unfreedoms experienced by migrant Cambodian fish workers in coastal Thailand serves as a framework to compare and contrast working conditions between then and now. The thesis concludes with a reflection on migrant fish work and key areas that require further unpacking within the Southeast Asian context including what is happening in source countries (Cambodia, in this case, but also in other regions in Vietnam), while arguing that a modern slavery framing does not meaningfully protect migrant fish workers from unacceptable working conditions.

This study surveyed 435 commercial fishermen across eight coastal regions of the United States where commercial fishing takes place. The regions of the study included: Northeast Atlantic, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, Great Lakes, Southern Pacific, Pacific Northwest, and Alaska. Participants were asked to complete the Commercial Fishing Worker Survey (CFWS), which is a survey instrument consisting of an approved, adapted version of the Index of Learning Styles instrument (ILS) combined with a demographic section which included questions designed to obtain data regarding the four variables of the study: age, education level, captain's license status, and method of fishing. The instrument was designed to provide data sufficient to answer the three research questions of the study. 1. What are the learning preferences of commercial fishermen? 2. Are there differences in the learning preferences of commercial fishermen across the eight geographical regions of the study? 3. Are there differences in the learning preferences of commercial fishermen based on the demographical variables? The commercial fishermen showed obvious inclinations toward specific learning preference dimensions. The fishermen indicated that they preferred the active (rather than the reflective) dimension, the sensing (rather than the intuitive) dimension, the visual (rather than the verbal) dimension, and the sequential (rather than the global) dimension. The participant's responses were similar across the eight regions. Where differences existed, they were related to the sensing/intuitive and sequential/global learning preferences dimensions. Region 8 Alaska appeared to have stronger sensing and sequential learning preferences than the other regions. Age did not appear to influence the learning preferences of the fishermen. The majority of the respondents indicated they were high school graduates. However, education did not appear to affect the learning preferences of the fishermen. Captain's license status had no influence on the learning preferences of the commercial fishermen, since the majority of the respondents did not possess a captain's license. Respondents indicated that the largest percentage of commercial fishing used net fishing methods as their primary means of fishing. For the majority of the commercial fishermen, method of fishing did not appear to influence the learning preferences of commercial fishermen. However, net and trap fishermen exhibited significant differences related to the sensing/intuitive and sequential/global learning preference dimensions and reported more preference for the sequential/global learning preference dimensions then fishermen using other methods of fishing. Implications and recommendations for further study are enumerated in the last chapter.

Area closures have been widely used in the management of migratory fish and conservation of endangered marine species, but very few economic models are available to assess the impacts of a closure because economists have paid little attention to complexities in fishery management, such as spatial heterogeneity in fish stocks and fleet dynamics. This study presents a spatial economic model that features (i) heterogeneously distributed stocks of multiple species, (ii) their movement across areas, (iii) travel costs depending on fishing location, and (iv) optimal allocation of fishing trips to areas and of the primary target in each fishing set. Because catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) diminishes with effort, trips are alternately allocated to several areas, where the expected crew's wages are equalized. While this optimal allocation of trips derives a demand for labor (DDL), fishermen's tradeoff between offshore days (labor) and onshore days (leisure) yields an upward-sloping labor supply curve, which determines, together with the DDL, the equilibrium level of wage and labor. Using catch and effort data summarized from the federally mandated commercial logbooks into 5° square monthly strata, auction price data, and survey data for longliner's cost structure, this model is applied to the Hawaii longline fishery to conduct policy simulations. While a near-shore area closure leads to fewer trips of longer duration, a closure of the North Pacific to protect sea turtles significantly reduces swordfish catch and significantly increases the catch of near-shore species, which may endanger the stocks of near-shore species or affect the harvests by other boats. The impacts of prohibiting swordfish sets on the industry could be more severe than the above closure for turtle conservation. A revenue tax is not effective in reducing fishing effort. A closure increases fish movement (FM) from the closed area to open, neighboring areas, resulting in higher levels of the stocks in those open areas. This FM effect benefits the fishery industry, and could reduce the fishermen's income loss from a closure--estimated by the model without FM--by half, if fish are mobile and the closed area(s) is a "source" in terms of the direction of movement.

The economic behavior of Hawaii's longline fishers was analyzed using a cross-sectional and time-series dataset from 1991 to 1998. Three empirical essays were written analyzing (1) the technological and economic interrelationships in the longline fishery, (2) trip choice behavior, and (3) vessel entry, stay, and exit decisions of the longline fishers. Studies on the analysis of technical-economic interrelationships among species suggest that Hawaii's longline fishery is characterized by a joint production process. Substantial economic and technical interactions existed, as many of the cross-price elasticities were significant, indicating either complementary or substitution relations in production among species. There was insufficient evidence for rejecting the null hypothesis of input-output separability. Output supplies were independent of their own prices. Output elasticities to effort and stock levels were positive and significant. Fishers' trip (or fishery) choice behavior was examined by applying the utility theoretic mixed model. Fishers exhibited utility maximizing behavior by choosing the trip type that yields best return, but they appeared to be risk-averse by choosing trip alternatives with less varying return, ceteris paribus. They exhibited "inertia" in switching to an alternative trip. Stock abundance indices of major species significantly influenced the type of trip chosen. Older and smaller vessels were more likely to choose the tuna trip rather than the swordfish or the mixed trip. Finally, the vessel entry-stay-exit decision was analyzed by applying the multinomial logit (unordered) model. The probability of a vessel to stay (or exit) in the fishery increased (or decreased) for an increase in the annual earning potential of a fisher. The fleet congestion level had a significant impact on the vessel entry-stay-exit decision. Vessels were reluctant to enter to and willing to exit from the fishery for an increase in fleet size. Entry-stay-exit decision was also based on a perceived abundance in major species stock levels. A vessel was more likely to stay in the fishery when the vessel owner was a Hawaii resident or a vessel captain. Vessel age had little impact on the entry-stay-exit decision. Simulation of probabilities for both forms of choices was carried out under different fleet structure and stock conditions.

Swordfish (Xiphias gladius) are increasingly sought after by recreational anglers around the world. The Florida Straits in particular are an important breeding and nursery area for North Atlantic swordfish, as well as for being historical fishing grounds for both recreational and commercial swordfish fisheries. The recreational fishery for swordfish in southeastern Florida is categorized into two historical periods. The first period started in 1977 and consists of the first tournaments in the area to specifically target swordfish. Despite high initial catches, low catch numbers forced the tournament fishery to close in 1983. During the second period of the fishery (starting in 2000 to today) the tournament fishery for swordfish has reemerged. Data from a total of 98 swordfish tournaments (17 historic, 81 current) have been collected. For comparison, information has been gathered from 72 istiophorid billfish tournaments within the modern (second) period. These data were gathered from tournament directors, websites, and personal communication with participants of the tournaments. The tournaments studied took place on the east coast of Florida from Stuart south to Key West, with a majority being held between Lighthouse Point and Islamorada in the Florida Keys. Although participation correlates to the number of catches, catch per hour (CPH) remains on a slow although not significant decrease over time. The entry fees for these modern period swordfish tournaments range from $200-600, while those for the more exclusive billfish tournaments are tenfold swordfish entry costs. Similarly, awarded prize monies of billfish tournaments are tenfold and significantly larger than prize monies for swordfish tournaments. The average weight of landed swordfish has shifted slightly in both the historic and the modern periods. Despite the oscillation of catch numbers throughout the two time periods, the weight of caught swordfish remained roughly the same. This may be from the minimum length restrictions implemented in the modern time period, a regulation which did not exist during the tournaments of the historic period.

Commercial fisheries on the West Coast are traditionally managed under large-scale management and conservation plans implemented by state and federal agencies. This scale of management can present obstacles for fishing communities. This thesis examines emerging cases of attempts to define and implement sustainable management of commercial fisheries under a community-based co-management model. In Port Orford, Sitka, San Diego and Santa Barbara, preliminary community-based co-management models are enabling fishing communities to pursue social sustainability through preserving access, participating in local science, and direct marketing for fish products. These communities are actively reshaping traditional models of conceptualizing and managing common-pool resources like fisheries.

The time-honored profession of commercial fishing in the Florida Keys is in danger of extinction as each year passes and fewer commercial fishermen remain in an industry that is sinking in the wake of politicians, land developers, and financial woes. At the heart of the problem is the threat of overfishing, a subject that is increasingly at the forefront of media attention and environmental campaigns. The villain in this story of death and destruction more often than not are commercial fishermen. But the blame is misguided. Our fishermen work according to the letter of the law and strive to maintain healthy sustainable fish stocks and sound marine ecosystems. It is unlikely that the American hunger for seafood will diminish so in the absence of locally caught fish the public has no choice but to support the efforts of unchecked foreign fisheries—Fisheries that are not managed as well as ours and in some instances fish until there is nothing left to take. / text

Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-14T13:26:59Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 5516524 bytes, checksum: abfcf37712be0007a49d70d69e7c4cf7 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-03-26 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / This work aims to understand the impact of new technologies incorporated in fishery production in Barra do Cunhaú and Baía Formosa in the northeastern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Norte, from the standpoint of fishermen and members of their communities regarding the impact of social changes in the current context of modernization. In this study, I attempt to analyze "the way of life" through the qualitative method supported by ethnography, with reference to the social memory of the fishermen and their communities as well as their daily social practices in light of the social changes which have occured within the area of fishery production, and how these engender tensions and conflicts in relation to production and daily practices. These tensions can be attributed to urban restructuring due to the growth of tourism in the region and the incorporation of new technologies in the daily life of these coastal communities. From this standpoint, the transformation of the way of life peculiar to those in a process of modernization, affected the legitimacy of the social construct of honor connected with fishing. What stands out is the fragmentation of the fishing craft as a job, and as a result, the development of the current situation of social vulnerability caused by precarious working conditions which are in opposition to the development of the work technique whose interest is the pursuit of profit - economic rationality, a characteristic of modern urban industrial societies. / Este trabalho objetiva compreender o impacto das novas tecnologias inseridas no âmbito da produção pesqueira em Barra do Cunhaú e Baía Formosa, no Rio Grande do Norte, a partir dos relatos de pescadores e comunitários a respeito das transformações sociais ocorridas mediante tal impacto no atual contexto de modernidade. Neste estudo, busco analisar o modo de vida através do método qualitativo amparado pela etnografia, tendo como referência a memória social dos pescadores e comunitários e as práticas sociais cotidianas no presente face às transformações sociais ocorridas no espaço da produção da pesca, e como estas engendram tensões e conflitos, tanto nas relações de produção quanto nas práticas cotidianas. Essas tensões podem ser atribuídas à reestruturação urbana decorrente do crescimento turístico na região e na inserção das novas tecnologias no cotidiano dessas comunidades costeiras. A partir disso, a transformação do modo de vida peculiar àquelas num processo de estilização do cotidiano, afetou a legitimidade do construto social da honra ligada à pesca. Acentua-se, como conseqüência dessas transformações, a fragmentação do trabalho artesanal da pesca e, em virtude disso, o desenvolvimento do estágio atual de vulnerabilidade social causado pelas precárias condições de trabalho que se contrapõem a um desenvolvimento da técnica de trabalho cujo interesse é a busca do lucro racionalidade econômica característica das sociedades modernas urbanas industriais.