Abstract
The practice of seine fishing for vendace (Coregonus albula) has continued as an unbroken tradition in Lake Puruvesi in eastern Finland since 1300 AD. While fishing methods have evolved, the fishery still relies heavily on the traditional knowledge of practitioners, which is passed along from generation to generation. Traditional knowledge of weather patterns, the fish themselves, and other components of the lake ecosystem have allowed fishers to maintain an economically viable fishery without depleting fish stocks. Lake Puruvesi and its traditional seine fishery represent a stronghold of Finnish fishing culture and traditional ecological knowledge. In recent years, local observations by fishers have identified threats to the lake ecosystem and the fishery, including eutrophication, climate change-related threats to fish, and climate-related disruption of fishing practices. This paper explores the unique ecological, social, and economic characteristics that have allowed the fishery to remain sustainable. We discuss the role of traditional knowledge in maintaining the fishery and we use a socio-ecological framework to broadly assess the value of the fishery. We also consider threats facing the fish and fishery and discuss approaches taken by fishers to address those threats.
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Data availability
Data supporting reported results can be found in HERTTA open access database in Finland.
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Acknowledgements
We thank Lauri Hämäläinen and Karoliina Lehtimäki for contributions from their winter seining crew.
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Conceptualization, TM; methodology, TM, AS, SM; validation, TM formal analysis, TM, BVD; investigation, TM and AS; resources, TM; data curation, TM, BVD; writing—original draft preparation, TM, SM and AS writing—review and editing, TM, SM NH provided summary tables and oral history materials in the analysis. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
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This research was funded by the Regional Council of North Karelia and Nessling Foundations. The authors declare no conflict of interest.
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Mustonen, T., Scherer, A., Van Dam, B. et al. Traditional knowledge in special fisheries: the case of Puruvesi vendace and seining. Rev Fish Biol Fisheries 33, 649–667 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11160-022-09728-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11160-022-09728-5