The 'success in failure' of the Vietnamese fishermen in Monterey Bay.

Since the mid-seventies, Indochinese fishermen have been entering the fishing industry in the United States in substantial numbers. Their entry into this occupation has been marked by contraditions, and can be characterized as 'success in failure'. While as a group the Indochinese have achieved some notable successes in the social and political arenas with respect to fisheries management and cultural adaptation, this has occurred in the midst of the general economic failure of their fishing enterprise. Using an ethnographic approach, and centering on the Vietnamese fishermen, their families, and communities in the Monterey Bay area of Central California, we show that this 'success in failure' has taken place within a set of occupational, commerical, and political activities which, as a whole, have served the adaptational purposes of the Vietnamese quite well. -Author

Duke Scholars

Author Michael K. Orbach Marine Science and Conservation