The relationship between national salmon regulations and Sámi salmon fishery traditions, which includes traditional knowledge, remains conflicted. Among current challenging issues is the recent agreement between Norway and Finland on salmon fishery in the Deatnu/Tana border river, which has received great opposition from Sámi communities on both sides of the river, amongst others the Tana watercourse’s Fish management in Norway, four fisheries co-operatives in Finland and the collective Ellos Deatnu. Many argue that traditional knowledge is not seen as a legitimate source of knowledge in the river management system. Simultaneously, there are ongoing efforts to create a collaborative management plan for the river which includes traditional knowledge.

2019 is the International Year of the Salmon, and UiT – the Arctic University of Norway in collaboration with Riddu Riđđu invites to a seminar with discussions on Sami traditions, current conflicts and possible avenues for cross-border collaboration on wild salmon management which is inclusive of Sami traditional knowledge on the Tana river. The participants at the seminar consist of activists and experts on Sámi salmon terminology and traditional knowledge, with fresh insights from recent court cases and challenges with the relationship between Indigenous Peoples' traditions and national science-based salmon management.

The seminar language is in English.

In the panel:

• Aslak Holmberg, salmon activist and scholar from Utsjoki, Tana. Aslak is a member of the group “Ellos Deatnu” and also participates in the Saami Council. He has written the master thesis “Bivdit Luosa – To Ask for Salmon” on Sami traditional knowledge on salmon and the river Deatnu in research and decision-making. He will talk about his views on the possibility of including traditional knowledge in salmon research and management on the Tana river, seen in light of recent court cases and international agreements.
• Kati Eriksen, salmon activist from Utsjoki, Tana. Kati was one of a group of traditional salmon fishers who went to court to have their traditional fishing rights recognised – and won! She will talk about traditional fishing methods and how they are taken into account or not in the Finnish court and management system.
• Solveig Joks, Associate Professor at the Sámi University for Applied Sciences. She has written the doctoral thesis “Laksen trenger ro” on traditional knowledge of salmon on the Tana river and will talk about the use of Sámi terminology and language as a part of Sámi traditional salmon management.
• Moderator: Camilla Brattland is an Associate Professor at UiT – The Arctic University of Norway. She is a co-author with Tero Mustonen of a paper in Arctic (2018) on traditional knowledge in Atlantic salmon governance in Norway and Finland, investigating the degree to which traditional knowledge has been perceived as policy-relevant by decision-makers in different contexts.

 

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