Following the Otolith at Sea
In this section, I describe my experiences on two Coastal RF vessels, Oddson and Haldorson;
and the Offshore RF vessel MS Geir. I was really excited about going to sea, since this is where fishers’ knowledge is produced and their epistemic culture enacted: a complex,
contextualized body of knowledge that has been excluded in modern resource management – until now? Again, the otoliths are given special attention. If I can see how the fishers extract them from the fish heads we have reached the beginning of the fish’s journey as data since this is where it all starts: out at sea.
The Coastal RF
In the north of Norway, where the Coastal RF vessels I visited during fieldwork are located, the coastal seascape is a mix of open waters off a rocky coast, with small bays, fjords and
islands. These features make access difficult for the IMRs research vessels. Hence, the Coastal RF provides them with important information when they sample fish which involves collecting otoliths, and measuring the weight and length of different species from the coastal areas.
The annual cycle of the coastal fishers, as any fishers, is driven by different fish species and their patterns. While some of the species migrate for spawning or feeding, other species are located in the same waters all year round. Haddock, saithe and herring are important species that migrate to the north and are targeted by the fishers there (Maurstad 2004: 279). However, the Northeast Arctic (NEA) cod is the cornerstone of this group in terms of livelihood. In addition to the NEA cod, small local fish stocks known as coastal cod live in different fjords. Each of the vessels included in the Coastal RF and its geographical distribution is presented below (and see Figures 5, 6 and 7, ‘Maps of the locations visited’).
Oddson
The IMR scientists enjoy visiting the RF vessels, and they often talk about these trips around the coffee table. Many of the scientists want to visit ‘their’ fishers more often, but their workload at the IMR does not allow it. During my fieldwork before Christmas 2007, all visits to the vessels were postponed, since they were waiting for new contracts. Still, one vessel, Oddson, is given special importance. This is mainly due to its location (see Figure 8).
According to Huse,
Huse explains that the main concern is to make sure Oddson delivers otoliths when the cod fishery starts again after Christmas. During the early spring, Oddson fishes mainly for cod, while the winter months are dedicated to the catch red king crab and halibut. Huse wants to make sure that he is ready for the cod. She decides to visit Oddson, and she agrees to let me come along. I land in Vadsø a cold November evening with crunchy snow and crisp air.
Oddson is berthed in the harbour, and it is the only boat there. Huse has already arrived, and is inside with the two fishers. ‘Per’ is the skipper and ‘Ola’ is his cousin and crew member. We chat for a while, and Per explains that the most important fisheries are the cod, the halibut and
It is crucial to make sure Oddson collects otoliths … we need to visit him and make sure that he will deliver [data] when the cod starts.
the red king crab. Hence, their activities are organized around the life cycle of these. We all go to bed early since we will leave the harbour about four o’clock in the morning.
In the following, I describe some of the practices onboard and interactions that took place between Huse and the crew on Oddson. The haddock and red king crab fisheries provide the frame for this experience where I combine participating and observing.
Figure 8: Part of Finnmark where Oddson is fishing. Coastal map: Finnmark, from the IMR Manual (IMR 2006)
Hunting halibut – and counting them
Huse and I wake up around six o’clock in the morning as the engine changes its sound when it is cut back by ‘Per’. We have reached the gillnets they placed here a couple of days ago. We get up to discover that it is a beautiful sunny day.
There is a lot of equipment both on deck and inside. In the steering house there are several screens, different radios and a large number of buttons. Per points out the GPS, the echo sounder, the radar and a computer. This fits well with Maurstad’s observation that ‘most full time fishermen now operate fully equipped vessels with modern technology’ (Maurstad 2004: 280). Per and Ola have already picked up the buoy marking the position of the halibut nets, and a machine starts hauling the nets onboard. I am as dazzled by everything going on here – what to do when and where – as I was during my first weeks at the IMR. Huse, on the other hand, seems to be at home: she seems to be used to the equipment and the organization
onboard a fishing vessel.
We are all excited to see what comes up from the deep black sea when they start pulling in the nets. This day, the gillnets are filled with red king crabs. They come on board and the hauling machine takes them through a loop, and their long spiky legs are squashed, but without breaking. It is as if the red king crabs’ legs are made of some sort of rubbery material, since their shape returns to normal afterwards. Per is watching the catch that comes up, making sure it goes through the net hauler. Ola starts to disentangle the crab from the net, one after another: there are heaps of them, big and small, male and female. Then, the gillnet continues its journey to a clearing device which piles it up neatly so it is ready for the sea again. However, due to the crabs, the net is piling up behind Ola. Huse is helping, and I jump in too, despite my clumsiness. Ola gets more impatient as there is no halibut and a lot of not-at-all-cooperative crabs that have to be removed. As part of the RF job, the fishers should count the by-catch, and they gather the crabs in a pile in the middle of the boat. Ola explained:
According to the regulations, the red king crab has to be caught by traps. Hence, all the crabs caught in gillnets must be thrown overboard, preferably alive. Since it is almost impossible to negotiate them out from the nets alive, it seems less cruel to just kill them quickly. We take up net after net. After each net, the fishers must clear it and prepare it in order to get the same nets back in the sea again. There is no time to count the crabs in between their work with the gillnets. The pile of crabs is growing, and I can see Ola’s point about the lack of space in order to count the by-catch for the RF.
I am getting really cold from working with the wet nets and crabs, and I am glad when we have to move the boat to get to the location where the next sets of nets are. I can take a break and get warm in the steering house whenever I feel like it. For the fishers, there are no breaks if the rhythm of the work does not allow it. First they must do what is needed before they can make food or have a cup of coffee. When the chores are done at the first location, Per goes into the steering house while Ola makes coffee downstairs. We can see ‘Grense Jakobs elv’, the border river between Russia and Norway. The radio is on, and it is mostly Russian voices that break the silence. They show me the electronic maps, where we are and where we
Normally, we just throw the crab directly overboard since there is no space for it. But since Huse is here to demonstrate to us how to fill out the forms, we must find a place for it on board and count it later.
are going. Per and Ola are what a Norwegian would refer to as ‘typical northerners’. They are friendly, helpful and if I ask a question, they answer in short sentences; there is very little small talk.
At the next location, the same process takes place, and at the third, which is the last location for gillnets, the same. The pile of crabs gets bigger and we have not seen one halibut.
According to Per, this has been a bad season:
Suddenly, Per gets excited. There is a huge halibut in the gillnet, too big for their standard equipment. Per and Ola work hard to get it on board, Per giving brief orders to Ola in a mix of Norwegian and Sami23. The halibut is 220 cm long and weighs over 200 kg. Per tells some of the other fishers on the radio about the catch. Now, Huse is eager to show them how to take out the otolith. We start to talk about the age of the fish.
The Coastal RF vessels are all given a set of equipment, and according to the 2009
instructions, every Coastal RF vessel should have: writing equipment, writing base, forms (Station, Sampling and Length forms), plastic length measuring device, envelopes for otoliths, tweezers, bags for stomach samples, knife, measuring board and a counting device. In
addition, some of the vessels may have a weighting scale and a dictaphone (IMR 2009b).
They hang the halibut on a cord in the ‘corner’ of the boat. Later, both Per and Huse look for the otoliths in the giant haddock head lying on a table on deck. Neither of them can find it: the head is big and the otoliths are small.
23 The Sami are the indigenous people who inhabit parts of far northern Sweden, Norway, Finland and the Kola peninsula of Russia, as well as the border area between south and middle Sweden and Norway.
It has been this way every time we go out. Only crab. The nets are full of crab and no halibut.
Huse: Do you have the equipment from the IMR?
Per: Yes, I have it. You [meaning IMR] gave it to me.
Picture 3: Fishing with Oddson. The by-catch of red king crabs in front. The IMR scientist Huse with a