Fishing for dignity: Cornish fishers’ perspectives on dignity at work - conceptual grounding and implications for policy and practice

Abstract

Dignity features prominently in debates about labour and human rights, and decent work in the fishing industry. However, the conceptual breadth and empirical application of dignity in the fishing occupation has not been sufficiently explored and requires further investigation. This paper argues that dignity at work provides a useful lens to guide fisheries policy and practice. The paper draws on sociological concepts of dignity at work to conceptualise dignity in fisheries work. It applies a constructionist qualitative research design and thematic analysis to illustrate its empirical application based on semi-structured interviews with 15 small-scale fishers in Cornwall, UK. The findings show the ways in which fishers construct and defend their individual and collective dignity across three dignity dimensions: social dignity, economic dignity and dignity of autonomy and co-determination. A focus on dignity at work in the analysis and discussion sections: i) provides fertile ground for a better understanding of fishing work, ii) offers pathways for guiding policy and practice that recognise and support dignified fishing work, and iii) expands wider dignity theory. Avenues for further research on this novel topic are suggested.