Diversification into tourism is often suggested as a potential solution for the increasing concerns
over globally declining fishing opportunities, particularly for small-scale fishers. Through
the lens of psychosocial identity, qualitative data analysis from interviews with current and
previous fishers in Cornwall shows how people are deconstructing and reconstructing their
identities in the transition from fishing to tourism work, and that experiences of marine tourism
diversification are dynamic, multifaceted, and embedded in social encounters. This article
expands current discussions on work transitions by giving insight into the lived experiences
of marine tourism operators from a psychosocial perspective, to go beyond the dominant economic
narrative of diversification and social change, which has implications on how transitions
into tourism work are facilitated.