Sámi Salmon, State Salmon: LEK, Technoscience and Care1 Solveig Joksa and John Law b a Sámi Allaskuvla, Sámi University of Applied Science Hánnoluohkká 45, NO-9520 Guovdageaidnu, Norway
[email protected] b Department of Sociology, The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, UK,
[email protected] and Centre for Science Studies, Department of Sociology, Lancaster University, Bailrigg, Lancaster LA1 4YN 10 March 2016; JoksLaw2016SamiSalmonScienceSalmon.pdf 1 We are grateful to Petter Somby, Aslak Varsi, Johannes Varsi and all the other fishing people on the Deatnu who talked with Solveig and so willingly shared their knowledge with her in the course of her fieldwork. Solveig would also like to thank Sámi Allaskuvla for financial support for the PhD-research on which this paper is based. Finally she thanks her supervisor Britt Kramvig who has supported her during the fieldwork and the writing of her dissertation. 1 ‘Nowadays there are so many people fishing. And of course they will catch fish if they fish day and night. The problem is that the fish never get any peace, not even for an hour.’ (The words of Petter Somby, Tana River fisherman) ‘An overview of threat factors in the Tana show that overexploitation of salmon in the different parts of the salmon migratory system is the major threat factor for Tana salmon.’ (A view from the biologists)2 Introduction In Sámi ‘Deatnu’ means ‘the big river’. It is also the Sámi name for a major river in Sápmi in north Norway and Finland.3 Deatnu is one of the most important salmon rivers of Europe.