Organizing the Coast

Information and Misinformation during the Maine Lobstermen's Tie-up of 1989

Bibliographic Data

ID2499355
AuthorsCraig T Palmer (Memorial University of Newfoundland, corresponding author), Craig Palmer
Year1991
Volume50
Issue2
Pages194-202
Publication date1991-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueHuman Organization (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0018-7259 • E-ISSN: 1938-3517
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.17730/humo.50.2.3873061062185jw6
OpenAlexW1982409465
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited9

This paper describes an attempt by Maine lobstermen to organize a tie-up to protest low prices during August of 1989. The mustering of widespread support for the tie-up required overcoming several obstacles. These included the social isolation of the Maine coast's scattered fishing villages, the lobstermen's traditional values of independence and egalitarianism, the competition resulting from the exploitation of a common property resource, and a divergence of interests between lobstermen. These obstacles contributed to contradictions and ambiguities in the flow of information during the tie-up. While these distortions caused numerous problems for the organizers of the tie-up, there were also instances where misinformation was beneficial to organizational efforts. This complicated role of information and misinformation is discussed

Common-pool resource · Competition (biology) · Economics · Egalitarianism · Fishing · Independence (probability theory) · Misinformation · Political science · Politics · Public relations · Sociology · Corruption and Economic Development · Ecology · Law · Maritime Security and History · Media Influence and Politics

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