Fish on the Move: Fishing Between Discourses and Borders in the Northern Adriatic (MARE Publication Series Book 11)

This book analyses the relation between different discourses and actors through an ethnographic approach, showing not only how fishermen in Slovenia respond to international political economy, how they struggle to survive but also how they generate small changes. Fishing in the northeastern part of the Adriatic Sea makes for a substantial economy anchored in many stories. Regional conflicts, wars, the demise of empires and the rise of nation states with ensuing maritime border issues, socialist heritage, transnational and transformational processes in Europe, and the growth of capitalist relations between production and consumption in coastal areas, have all contributed to the specific discourses that have affected this relatively under-researched area. How this complex, layered and ambiguous quarrelling is constituted at different levels and how this situation is lived and experienced by the local fishermen working along the present Slovene coast effectively forms the core of this book. Acknowledgments 6 Contents 8 Chapter 1: An Introductory Stroll Along the Coastal Landscapes of Northeastern Adriatic 11 1.1 The Walk 14 1.1.1 From Lazaret/Lazaretto to Debeli rtič/Punta Grosa 14 1.1.2 Along the Adriatic Road to Skocjanski zatok 16 1.1.3 The Port of Koper, Old Town and Porporella 19 1.1.4 On the Trace of Porečanka/Parenzana from Koper to Izola 21 1.1.5 Izola, the Town of Workers and Fishermen 22 1.1.6 From Marina Izola to San Simon Resort 25 1.1.7 Strunjan Landscape Park and the Bay of Strunjan 26 1.1.8 From Fiesa to Piran 28 1.1.9 To Bernardin in Portoroz 30 1.1.10 The Bay of Piran 31 1.2 Voices of Discordance 33 References 39 Part I: Orientation: NE Adriatic 42 References 44 Chapter 2: The Field of Ethnological Study Between Borders and Discourses 46 2.1 Geographical Borders and Discourses 47 2.1.1 Many Names for a Small Region 47 2.1.2 Geomorphology of the Gulf of Trieste 48 2.2 Biology: From Technological Innovation to Overexploitation 50 2.2.1 Technological Innovation of Industrial Fishing in SFR Yugoslavia 50 2.2.2 Overexploited Fish Populations, Endangered Marine Species and Migratory Fish 52 2.3 Disputed Borders and ``Extruded Histories ́ ́ 54 2.3.1 The Dispute 55 2.3.1.1 Borders and Fishing Agreements 58 2.3.2 Is the Fishing Tradition of the Bay of Piran Really Slovene? 59 2.3.3 ``Extruded Histories ́ ́ 62 2.4 Slovene Marine Fishing: Fragments from the Twentieth and Twenty-First Century 63 2.4.1 Industrial Fishing and Canning Industry in the North-East Adriatic 64 2.4.2 Private and Non-industrial Fishing from WWII Until 1991 66 References 69 Part II: Transformation: Slovene Fishermen After the Separation from SFR Yugoslavia 72 References 77 Chapter 3: Fishing in Slovenia After 1991 78 3.1 Nationalization of Fisheries 78 3.1.1 Slovene Ethnological and Amateur Production: Gaps and Silences in Transposing Tradition 79 3.1.1.1 Ethnological Topography of the Slovenian Ethnic Territory (ETSEO) Project 80 3.1.1.2 ``More History for More Self-Confidence ́ ́ 82 3.2 Open Letters, Project Applications and Newspapers 84 3.2.1 Does Slovenia Need Fishermen? 84 3.2.2 Reading About Fishermen in Slovene Newspapers 88 References 91 Chapter 4: Conversations on the Pier 93 4.1 Mulling over the Mullets 93 4.1.1 The Mullet Fishing After 1991 95 4.2 Who Is the Real Fisherman? 103 4.2.1 Back to the Future: From Industrial Fishing to Private Fishing 103 4.2.1.1 Family and Blood Succession 105 4.2.1.2 Personal Affection 106 4.2.1.3 Time 106 4.2.1.4 Private Small Coastal Fishing 107 4.2.1.5 Knowledge, Skills and Inventiveness 108 4.2.1.6 Additional Activities, Part-Time Fishermen and Sport Fishermen 108 4.2.1.7 Organisations, Nets and Work at the Sea 110 4.2.1.8 Locality 111 References 113 Part III: Innovation: Uses of Authenticity in North-Eastern Adriatic Corner 114 References 118 Chapter 5: Yugoslav and Post-Yugoslav Coastal Tourism 120 5.1 Historical Sketch 122 5.2 After 1991 129 References 133 Chapter 6: Fishing for Tourists 135 6.1 Pros and Cons Discussions 138 6.2 Three Ethnographic Narratives 142 6.2.1 A Day off for Coal-Miners and Peasant Women 142 6.2.2 Fishing with Fishermen 145 6.2.3 ``When the Sea Is Caught in the Net ́ ́ 146 References 150 Chapter 7: How Authentic Is Fishing Tourism in Slovenia? 151 7.1 Theory: Invention, Innovation and Authenticity 154 7.2 People: Fishing Tourism as Innovation 157 7.3 Images: Mediterranean, Istria, the Sea and the Fishing 162 7.3.1 Heterogeneous Constructions 162 7.3.2 Tourist Rhetoric and Fishing 164 7.3.2.1 Mediterranean: A Maritime Character of the Towns 166 7.3.2.2 Slovenian Istria: A Generous Garden with a View of the Sea 169 7.3.2.3 The Sea 171 7.4 Putting the Pieces together 172 References 174 Part IV: Management: Sustainable Development, Projects and Common Fisheries Policy 177 References 181 Chapter 8: Walk Along the Protected Areas and Navigation with Sustainable Fishermen 182 8.1 Environmentalism in SFR Yugoslavia 184 8.2 ``Slovene Fishing Is Totally Sustainable ́ ́: A Dialogue with Greenpeace 189 References 193 Chapter 9: European Books Are Too Big for Us 195 9.1 Project: Heading Towards Europe 197 9.1.1 Fishery Office 197 9.1.2 ``Fishing for Projects ́ ́ 203 References 208 Chapter 10: Small Fish in a Big World 209 10.1 Mashed-Up Layers 210 10.1.1 What Can We Learn from the Small Example? 214 References 218 Front Matter....Pages i-ix An Introductory Stroll Along the Coastal Landscapes of Northeastern Adriatic....Pages 1-31 Front Matter....Pages 33-36 The Field of Ethnological Study Between Borders and Discourses....Pages 37-62 Front Matter....Pages 63-68 Fishing in Slovenia After 1991....Pages 69-83 Conversations on the Pier....Pages 85-105 Front Matter....Pages 107-112 Yugoslav and Post-Yugoslav Coastal Tourism....Pages 113-127 Fishing for Tourists....Pages 129-144 How Authentic Is Fishing Tourism in Slovenia?....Pages 145-170 Front Matter....Pages 171-175 Walk Along the Protected Areas and Navigation with Sustainable Fishermen....Pages 177-189 European Books Are Too Big for Us....Pages 191-204 Small Fish in a Big World....Pages 205-214