Navigating the Waters of Precarity: Dynamics of Work in Vietnamese Offshore Fisheries

Abstract

Vietnam, a major exporter of fish products and one of the top ten capture fisheries producer countries by volume, is currently undergoing fisheries reforms under international and national pressure. The country's fisheries have been under criticism for environmentally unsustainable and harmful practices, violations of international maritime borders, and a lack of traceability of both fish and fishers, among other things. And yet, much of this criticism ignores the livelihoods, experiences, tough choices, and the social-environmental situations of fishers themselves. It is in this context that this thesis seeks to understand working conditions, labour dynamics and social relations in Vietnamese offshore fisheries. In the format of three journal articles, I examine the compounding challenges faced by Vietnamese offshore fishers and explore the ways in which fishers navigate these challenges and adapt to change, including policy and legal change at various levels. As a dangerous, environmentally-dependant job where pay is tied to inconsistent catch amounts and where fishers become subject to the legal authority of multiple states as they move through international waters, fishing is precarious work. Through interviews and participant observation, this research illuminates the perspectives of workers, captains, and boat owners in Southern Vietnam to uncover the ways in which precarity shapes offshore fishing. This thesis seeks to explain both material and social relations in a market deeply embedded in global capitalism.