Abstract
The subarctic Teno River is one of the most significant spawning rivers for Atlantic salmon in Europe. In 2009, research indicated that the Teno salmon stock was in a weak state, and concern about the future of Atlantic salmon in the Teno River arose on both sides of the river, in Finland and Norway. In 2017, the governments ratified the new Teno fishing agreement (Teno Fishing Act 2017). The agreement aimed to reduce the fishing volume by 30%, and the new regulations concerned all users, including the indigenous Sámi, other locals, tourists, and fishing entrepreneurs. This triggered concern and anger in the Sámi community and among other locals generally. The dispute raised a question concerning the management of Teno salmon. We conducted a Q inquiry with 43 statements, covering aspects of interest, knowledge, management, and policy needs related to Teno salmon. We hypothesised that the key reason for the management tensions lay in how scientific and traditional knowledge fitted administrative knowledge requirements. By using self-organising maps (SOMs), four webs of beliefs emerged from the data: traditional Sámi fishing; salmon protection; equal economic opportunity; and evidence-based decision-making. We also further analysed the statements according to how they reproduced diverging and similar beliefs. We discuss the identity-related struggle, rights, and stakes and the underlying issue of confidence and respect.
Highlights
In sustainability policy and science, it is commonly considered that all stakeholders affecting or affected by decisions should be recognised and given an opportunity to participate in policy planning and decision making (Reed et al 2009)
The evidence cluster promotes the consideration of evidence first—that is, it is connected with evidence and science-based decision making in which scientific knowledge can justify decisions, even if some stakeholders oppose these decisions
The salmon protection cluster promotes the view that those stakeholders with a normative position prioritise ecology, and salmon is capitalised before societal interests in top-down management (Weible et al 2004)
Summary
The acceptability of policy and management decisions can be only partly measured by objective yardsticks. They are defined by actors’ perceptions, which are grounded in the experience and habits of thinking that condition beliefs regarding the future The subarctic Teno River is one of the most significant spawning rivers for Atlantic salmon in Europe. It is one of the few remaining large watersheds that still support abundant Atlantic salmon stock, with little or no human impact on the system except for fishing (Erkinaro et al 2019). The Teno is called the Tana in Norwegian and the Deatnu in Northern Sámi (Fig. 1)
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