Fishers at Work, Workers at Sea: Puerto Rican Journey Thru Labor & Refuge

This book represents a twenty plus years journey of two meticulous social scientists through documents of marine anthropology, direct observations of coastal dwellers in the Caribbean and Eastern United States, the life histories of artisan fisherman and the history of Puerto Rico. The authors place the traditional, ancient occupation of fishing within the context of modern globalization to make clear how modern national and international economic trends affect individuals in terms of labor, community structure and family relations.Griffith and Valdés Pizzini frame their field observations within an exhaustive review of marine and coastal research studies as well as allusions to the writings of Gabriel García Márquez and Octavio Paz. The use of this resource evokes in the reader emotions that favor identification with the book and with the subjects whose life histories are used to document the book.The authors reflect a detailed knowledge of Puerto Rico’s coastal space, fisher family cycles, labor turnovers and fishing techniques which they use in a wider context to make comparisons with other Caribbean Islands and the U. S. Coastal environments. The field observations unmask the role of women in what they call "the entire social universe that is controlled and governed by women in fisher domestic circles." The book presents the government efforts to organize fishers and describes the adjustments that they make according to their own circumstances and the external factors affecting them.The dynamics of coastal affairs and the diversity of forces impinging upon fishing reveal throughout the book the multiple conflicts that exist in the sea fronts of Puerto Rico and most coastal areas of the world. Activities and social sectors that demand more space for development, recreation, business and international trade covet the finite nature of the coastal line.Applied professionals and academicians should read this book. Managers of coastal affairs and policy makers could also acquire the needed perspective for understanding the economic interests and social trends affecting development of the coastal sector, its resources, communities and people. Academically speaking the book is a required reading in the areas of sociology, marine anthropology, labor relations and social change. No scholar interested in the Caribbean should miss reading this enlightening book.