THE PIRATES OF PISCARY: ETHNOHISTORY OF ILLEGAL FISHING IN NEW JERSEY.

This paper investigates piscatorial piracy—fish and shellfish poaching—in the past and present experience of commercial fishing communities of the Raritan Bay region of New Jersey. Ethnographic and historical research supports the following interpretations: piracy is cultural; it is a response to enclosure of the marine commons; and it is grounded in historical disputes over property rights in marine resources that suggest the importance of class-specific social relations within the fisheries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]