Uncommon Property

The Fishing and Fish-Processing Industries in British Columbia

Edited by Patricia Marchak, Neil Guppy, and John L. McMullan

UBC Press

Uncommon Property describes Canadian West Coast fisheriesin the 1980s, focusing on the social and economic structure of theindustry. It is the product of a three-year research project conductedby the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at the University ofBritish Columbia.

Part 1 is concerned with the history of the industry, the role ofthe federal and provincial governments, international markets,significant differences in raw fish markets and their importance forthe fish processing sector, and the international context for BritishColumbia fisheries.

Part 2 considers the labour process. This includes chapters onshoreworkers and fishers, with descriptions of their characteristicsand working conditions. It also examines their history of organization,the special place of native Indians in the fishery, and the perspectiveof history by the Union of Fishermen and Allied Workers' UnionNewspaper.

Part 3 considers fishing communities: their viability when they aredependent on a diminishing resource and their responses to resourcedepletion.

This study offers readers unique insights into the complex problemsof fishing industries in which competing interests are attempting tofind solutions to unresolvable contradictions.

A welcome and valuable resource book essential for anyone interested in the west coast fisheries. More than that, however, the key chapters by Guppy, Pinkerton, and Muszynski in Part 2 and one on the state by McMullan in Part 1 are classic articles in the field and deserve to be widely cited as insightful, original contributions to Canadian political economy. Wallace Clement, BC Studies

Patricia Marchak is a professor and head of theDepartment of Sociology and Anthropology at the University of BritishColumbia. Neil Guppy is an associate professor in theDepartment of Sociology and Anthropology at the University of BritishColumbia. John McMullan is an associate professor inthe Department of Sociology at St. Mary's University.

List of Tables

List of Figures

Acknowledgments

Preface

Introduction

1. Uncommon Property / Patricia Marchak

Part 1: Capital and the State

2. The Organization of the Fisheries: An Introduction / JohnMcMullan

3. Major Processors to 1940 and Early Labour Force: Historical Notes/ Alicja Muszynski

4. Competition Among B.C. Fish-Processing Firms / EvelynPinkerton

5. The Production and Distribution of B.C. Salmon in the WorldContext / Stephen Garrod

6. State, Capital, and the B.C. Salmon Fishing Industry / JohnMcMullan

7. "Because Fish Swim" and Other Causes of InternationalConflict / Patricia Marchak

Part 2: Labour and Organization

8. Labouring at Sea: Harvesting Uncommon Property / NeilGuppy

9. Labouring on Shore: Transforming Uncommon Property intoMarketable Products / Neil Guppy

10. Organization of Divided Fishers / Patricia Marchak

11. Indians in the Fishing Industry / Evelyn Pinkerton

12. Shoreworkers and UFAWU Organization Struggles between Fishersand Plant Workers within the Union / Alicja Muszynski

Part 3: Community and Region

13. The Fishing-Dependent Community / Evelyn Pinkerton

14. Regionalism, Dependence, and the B.C. Fisheries: HistoricalDevelopment and Recent Trends / Keith Warriner

Conclusion

15. Uncommon History / Patricia Marchak

Appendices

A. Notes on Sample Survey Methodology

B. Papers and Publications Bibliography Index

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