Contested and Dangerous Seas
200 pages, 6 x 9
16 tables
Paperback
Release Date:22 Dec 2019
ISBN:9781625344366
Contested and Dangerous Seas
North Atlantic Fishermen, Their Wives, Unions, and the Politics of Exclusion
University of Massachusetts Press
Deep-sea fishing has always been a hazardous occupation, with crews facing gale-force winds, huge waves and swells, and unrelenting rain and snow. For those New England and British fishermen whose voyages took them hundreds of miles from the coastline, life was punctuated by strenuous work, grave danger, and frequent fear. Unsurprisingly, every fishing port across the world has memorials to those lost at sea.
During the 1960s and 1970s, these seafaring workers experienced new hardships. As modern fleets from many nations intensified their hunt for fish, they found themselves in increasing competition for disappearing prey. Colin J. Davis details the unfolding drama as New England and British fishermen and their wives, partners, and families reacted to this competition. Rather than acting as bystanders to these crises, the men and women chronicled in Contested and Dangerous Seas became fierce advocates for the health of the Atlantic Ocean fisheries and for their families' livelihoods.
During the 1960s and 1970s, these seafaring workers experienced new hardships. As modern fleets from many nations intensified their hunt for fish, they found themselves in increasing competition for disappearing prey. Colin J. Davis details the unfolding drama as New England and British fishermen and their wives, partners, and families reacted to this competition. Rather than acting as bystanders to these crises, the men and women chronicled in Contested and Dangerous Seas became fierce advocates for the health of the Atlantic Ocean fisheries and for their families' livelihoods.
[T]his is an informative and engaging case study of two historic ?shing regions facing the dramatic changes caused by industrialization in the North Atlantic ?shery. It is a complex story, with many layers to be explored, and Davis contributes important new insights on how the people working on the trawlers, in addition to their families and communities, responded to threats to their livelihoods. It is a much-needed perspective . . .'—American Historical Review
'A cogent, timely, and thorough study of two regions whose fishing industry, through very different routes, declined at the same time.'—Matthew McKenzie, author of Breaking the Banks: Representations and Realities in New England Fisheries, 1866–1966
'Davis has made commendable efforts to broaden his perspective from fishing itself to the communities in which the fishers were based . . . the work that Davis and other researchers into fisheries, fish workers and their communities [have undertaken] is important and valuable far outside narrow academic concerns.'—International Journal of Maritime History
COLIN J. DAVIS is retired distinguished professor of history at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
