REBOUNDING FROM EXTRACTIVISM The history and re-assertion of traditional weir-fishing practices in the Interior Sea of Chiloe

Thumbnail
Authors
Alvarez, Ricardo
Munita, Doina
Mera, Rodrigo
Borlando, Italo
Ther Rios, Francisco
Nunez, David
Hidalgo, Carlos
Hayward, Philip
Authors
Date
Datos de publicaciĆ³n:
SHIMA-THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH INTO ISLAND CULTURES,Vol.13,155-173,2019
Keywords
Abstract
This study analyses the use of traditional fishing weirs in the Interior Sea of Chiloe, in southern Chile. Although fishing weirs were in operation the time of the arrival of the first Europeans in the area in the mid-16th Century, when the indigenous Chono and Williche populations led distinctly aquapelagic lifestyles, we contend that they proliferated in subsequent centuries during the process of mestizaje (mixing) between indigenous populations and Spanish settlers and in response to the pressure exerted by population growth and associated social transformations in an insular location. Weirs remained in use until the second half of the 20th Century but have fallen into disuse in recent times due to the profound socio-productive changes resulting from modern development models favouring intense extractivism. Such developments have exacerbated socio-environmental conflicts and caused a population decline in small islands in the region. Based on our discussions of the above, we propose that the traditional insular fisheries model has allowed sustainable inhabitation of these islands; that its decline has dismantled key community assets; and that a return to socially-managed, non-extractivist fishery practices is essential for regional communities.
Description
Journal Volumes
Journals
Journal Issues
relationships.isJournalVolumeOf
relationships.isArticleOf
Journal Issue
Organizational Units
relationships.isArticleOf
Organizational Units
relationships.isPersonaOf
Organizational Units
relationships.isTesisOfOrg