The salmon fishing culture that disappeared

As a result of hydropower development in the 20th century, wild salmon populations disappeared in most rivers in northern Sweden. The loss of salmon also meant that cultures around salmon fishing that provided local development and community were lost. These are some of the conclusions in a new dissertation in history from Luleå University of Technology on the driving forces and power relations behind the industrialised Norrland.

The thesis focuses on the period 1940-1970 when the development of hydropower was most intense in Norrland and the salmon population declined most rapidly. Salmon is a key species in the ecosystem. The thesis describes how the loss of the salmon affected not only life in the water but also surrounding ecosystems on land. The people living along the rivers lost an economic resource but also cultural values.

“Ownership of fishing waters and gear was largely shared. Salmon fishing required cooperation in the villages. It had an important cultural and social significance. Through their collective work, people gained knowledge about nature,” says Johan Cederqvist, who is the author of the thesis.

His research is also based on the salmon's own perspective, which is reflected in the English title of the thesis. "Lost salmon" is a deliberate ambiguity that refers both to the fact that populations have been lost and that the salmon got lost, when they could no longer find their usual spawning grounds.

Johan Cederqvist. Photo: Staffan Westerlund

Distanced relationship

Many wanted to protect salmon. But in the debate, very few defended wild salmon for its own sake. Salmon farming therefore became a relatively undisputed alternative to wild salmon. Johan Cederqvist believes that Western culture has a distanced relationship with fish.

“Fish are not like us and they live underwater. This makes fish as an animal group particularly vulnerable. The mechanisms that greatly reduced the wild salmon population are partly the same mechanisms that threaten herring and cod in the Baltic Sea today.”

The thesis studies not only the impact of hydropower, but also the impact of rafting and pulp mills on salmon and salmon fishing. The legal space to resist for those who lived on salmon fishing decreased as industrialisation increased.

A vicious spiral

“From the perspective of salmon fishermen, it became a vicious circle. When an industry was established, its economic benefits were weighed against the economic benefits of salmon fishing. Each new industrial establishment reduced the salmon population and thus its economic value. Each time, therefore, it became easier to argue that the industrial sector should be prioritised.”

The thesis is based primarily on literature and archive studies. The material studied includes scientific journals, press material, reports and documents from investigations, scientific literature and court material. In addition, some ten interviews have been conducted with people who have lived along the rivers.