“Out of sight, out of mind”: International labour migration and fair employment in the Scottish fishing industry

Hržić, Katja (2025) “Out of sight, out of mind”: International labour migration and fair employment in the Scottish fishing industry. PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

This thesis explores regulative, economic and social dynamics surrounding the employment of migrant fishers working in the Scottish fishing industry. It draws on a qualitative empirical study, comprising primarily of semi-structured interviews (n=37) with fishers, recruiters, representatives of fisheries associations and relevant labour and fisheries NGOs, members of fishing communities, and (former) officials working in related fields. Conceptually, the research is situated between historical and new materialist approaches to geographies of the sea which capture how the work of (migrant) fishers is materially, economically and socially characterized by themes of precarity and instability. The thesis draws on and contributes to literatures on labour geographies (Anderson 2010, Lewis et al, 2015), migration and bordering (El-Enany, 2020), maritime geographies (Steinberg and Peters, 2015; 2019; Campling and Colás, 2021), and emerging literatures on blue justice (Mills, 2015; Bennet et al, 2020).

Through three empirical chapters this thesis discusses policies, enforcements and ideals related to the employment of migrant fishers working in Scotland. Characterizing the industry’s reliance on the oversea workforce as a spatial fix (Harvey, 1982), it analyses the UK immigration regime following the vote for Brexit in relation to the mode of employment in Scottish marine fisheries, arguing that the frequently changing immigration regulations increase precarity among domestic fishers and hyper-precarity among migrant fishers. It then problematises the process of enforcement of labour and immigration regulations at sea, arguing that the conceptualisation of oceanic spaces – in our geographical imaginations, in policy and discursive abstractions, and in individual and collective lived realities – as an unstable and ever-changing place works to both enable and obfuscate the precarious labour practices that take place at sea. It subsequently analyses how practices of regulation and enforcement are negotiated through individual and collective moral geographies. Finally, it calls for a multiscalar approach, drawing on Massey (2004) to argue that the scales of justice in fisheries are inter-connected; and showing that what happens within the porous boundaries of Scottish fisheries is both a product and a part of the practices reproduced in global fisheries.

• Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Additional Information: Supported by funding from ESRC and the Marine Directorate at the Scottish Government.
• Subjects: D History General and Old World > DA Great Britain; H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor; S Agriculture > SH Aquaculture. Fisheries. Angling
• Colleges/Schools: College of Science and Engineering > School of Geographical and Earth Sciences
• Funder's Name: Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), Marine Directorate Scotland
• Supervisor's Name: Botterill, Dr. Kate, Featherstone, Professor David and Barclay, Dr. Kay
• Date of Award: 2025
• Depositing User: Theses Team
• Unique ID: glathesis:2025-85279
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 01 Jul 2025 13:54
• Last Modified: 01 Jul 2025 13:57
• Thesis DOI: 10.5525/gla.thesis.85279
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/85279