Working on Water: Introduction

Abstract

This special issue focuses on the work lives of individuals with jobs that take place on and around boats. This introduction to the special issue “Working on Water” provides an overview of the long history of anthropological research on forms of human work that take place in and around salt and fresh bodies of water, such as food harvesting, watercraft construction, and transportation. It also discusses links between the multidisciplinary “mobilities turn” and research on aquamobilities. The last section introduces the ethnographic papers included in this issue of the journal, which focus on various sectors, including seafood harvesting, coastal tourism, passenger and vehicle ferries, and cargo transportation.