The impact of tourism on a natural resource community: Cultural resistance in Cortez, Florida

The dissertation examines the impact of an increasing emphasis upon recreational tourism by state, regional and local governments on the fishing community of Cortez, Florida. Of particular interest is how resistance by fishermen toward increasing regulation on the water and the residents of the village toward increasing development on land influences the perception of who they are and affects their ability to stem the tide of an influential "growth machine."; The fast-paced growth of Florida's coastal counties has produced a demographic shift where once isolated, rural, working-class fishing communities are now surrounded by middle to upper middle class leisure and recreation communities. These newly established communities have decidedly different values concerning the nature of work, family, the environment and community. These differing values become apparent as recreational fishing interest groups attempt to remove traditional fishing gear from state waters in the form of a "net ban."; Resistance for commercial fishermen reinforces a strong sense of independence and autonomy within their work and lives, yet it does not seem an acceptable image to the general public. The image of commercial fishermen that prevails during the media campaign to push the "net ban" initiative to a constitutional amendment has a significant impact on their fight over natural resources. While recreational fishing groups portrayed commercial fishermen as outlaws and destroyers of the resource, commercial fishermen and their families envisioned a different image more akin to Native Americans being pushed off their land.; The net ban campaign was successful and removed entanglement nets from state waters. It was a devastating defeat for commercial fishermen who have tried to regroup and have switched to other fisheries or sought other employment. Cortez, the community, has also regrouped, but the closure of two fish houses has brought into question the compatible use of waterfront property that could easily succumb to tourism and recreational development. Resistance continues to be mounted, but whether it can prevail will certainly be a key as to whether this community can retain some of the identity it has fashioned for over a century.