Hi Claudia: A good secondary source on the development of the NYC region's
commercial fishing industry is Clyde Mackenzie's The Fisheries of Raritan Bay
(1992), Rutgers U. Press. Also:
Bonnie J. McCay
1978 Systems Ecology, Peoples Ecology, and the Anthropology of Fishing
Communities. Human Ecology 6 (4):397-422
1984 The Pirates of Piscary: Ethnohistory of Illegal Fishing in New Jersey.
Ethnohistory 31 (1):17-37
As I recall, the latter have bibliograpies that may be useful ...
and also provide some overview histories of local fisheries.
Call or e-mail me if you need more information.
Wendy Harris
Planning Division - Corps of Engineers, NY District
(212) 264-0473