Mexican shrimp, Texas shrimpers and maritime conflict: the creation of a white collar crime.

Though not its specific intent, the 1981 amendment of the Lacey Act transformed a traditional practice among south Texas shrimpers--fishing in Mexican waters--into a violation of federal maritime law. Prior to the amendment this practice was overlooked by U.S. authorities and only sporadically controlled by Mexican authorities. Federal strategies for Lacey Act enforcement in the souther Gulf of Mexico and shrimper reactions to them led to an escalation of conflict between U.S. fishermen and authorities. Drawing on official documents and extensive interviews with both shrimpers and federal agents, the following analysis examines federal authority and shrimper interaction over time and applies Turk's theory of normative-legal conflict to explain the course of that interaction.