Flexible Production on the Working Waterfront: The Social Origins of the Northwest Atlantic Sea Urchin Industry*

• Published in: Rural Sociology
• Main Author: Lauer, Sean R.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2001
• Subjects: Northwest Atlantic
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1549-0831.2001.tb00083.x; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1549-0831.2001.tb00083.x; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1549-0831.2001.tb00083.x

Abstract In 1986 the northwest Atlantic sea urchin was little more than a nuisance to local fishermen. Six years later, sea urchins were the second most valuable fishery in Maine, next the lobsters. This paper examines the initiation and early development of the northwest Atlantic sea urchin industry. The industry is unique because of its quick growth and its reliance on international markets. On the basis of ethnographic research, I examine the ability of firms already working in in‐shore fisheries to adapt to the introduction of international markets for a new product. Institutional arrangements of the working waterfront facilitate these adaptations through technological and social flexibility. In addition, flexible adaptation to the sea urchin market was not inhibited by existing formal or informal institutions. This analysis of the sea urchin industry and the working waterfront contributes to current discussions about small‐firm networks and the economic sociology of industries.