Abstract
This is an accepted article with a DOI pre-assigned that is not yet published.
In many parts of the world fishermen attribute their success to good luck. Since it is difficult to control often highly mobile fish, there is indeed a large component of chance in fishing. But shellfish farming is a less unpredictable activity, because it involves managed harvesting of sedentary marine resources. Yet, like fishermen, shellfish planters in the Dutch town of Yerseke refer to luck and natural forces rather than expertise, skill and effort to account for their relative success. This article shows how these representations are rooted in their experiences and casts light on the ideological function of these representations.