ABSTRACT
In light of, or in spite of, the structural limitations confronting them, Indigenous people in Australia, New Zealand and the United States have pursued an array of strategies for securing greater recognition of their traditional fishing rights, as well as their right to manage their fisheries and pursue commercial fishing opportunities. This chapter details these strategies and specifically highlights the goals asserted by Indigenous fishermen and their supporters, the institutional and extra-institutional arenas through which they assert these goals, and the tactical innovations that Indigenous people employ to maximize their opportunities for achieving their material objectives while also ensuring that their cultural needs are met. Indigenous actors are particularly masterful at innovating both within and outside mainstream political structures to make sure that their cultural objectives are foregrounded. Across the cases, they utilize multilevel approaches to political claims-making, which span local, regional and national initiatives and simultaneously favor litigation, negotiation, civil disobedience, strategic partnerships and independent approaches.
