The Role of Culture in the Self-Organisation of Coastal Fishers Sustaining Coastal Landscapes: A Case Study in Estonia

Anu Printsmann,Tarmo Pikner

doi:10.3390/su11143951

Abstract

The cultural sustainability of coastal landscapes relies heavily on the community’s self-organisation in fish foodways. The theoretical framework concentrates on cultural sustainability, foodways, land–sea interactions, and community of practice. The data presented in this article were part of the SustainBaltic Integrated Coastal Zone Management plan, consisting mainly of semi-structured and focus group interviews with stakeholders, supported by background information from various available sources. The results are outlined by descriptions of self-organisation, community matters, and food forming cultural sustainability of coastal landscapes. The self-organisation in community of practice among coastal fishers is slowly progressing by negotiating common resources and voicing concerns about ecological, economic, and social sustainability. Foodways, which comprise the indispensable ingredient for sustaining a way of life that has produced traditional coastal landscapes, are always evolving.

Highlights

In recent food fads, a lot of attention has been paid to edible things themselves, but everything involved in and around them [1]; for example, seeds and soil, fertilisers and pesticides, animals and plants, wild, free-range and industrially grown, the length of supply chains, marketing, labelling, and so on [2,3]
The data presented in this article were part of the SustainBaltic Integrated Coastal Zone Management plan, consisting mainly of semi-structured and focus group interviews with stakeholders, supported by background information from various available sources
We argue that cultural sustainability is the key to understanding how the self-organisation of coastal fishers sustains foodways and landscapes

Summary

Introduction

A lot of attention has been paid to edible things themselves, but everything involved in and around them [1]; for example, seeds and soil, fertilisers and pesticides, animals and plants, wild, free-range and industrially grown, the length of supply chains, marketing, labelling, and so on [2,3] The reason behind this is that the majority of urbanites have lost their connection with their food—where it comes from, what it needs to grow, how it changes the immediate surroundings and wider environment—making all kinds of self-organised individual and collective food growing activities more popular than ever. In the context of current interests in food, its origins, and influence, this article explores the evolving culture of self-organisation of coastal fishers in Estonia. The paper argues that the fish foodways are paramount in sustaining coastal landscapes

Results

Discussion

Conclusion