Depleting our coastal culture: Overfishing and its impact on the local culture of Swedish fishing communities
(2025) MRSK62 20251Human Rights Studies
- Abstract
- A constant decline in fish stocks have been observed globally for the better part of the last century. In Sweden, the consequence of this decline has been the 9000 year old trade of small-scale fishing slowly disappearing. The extinction of these local fisheries have consequences for not only the fishers themselves, but for their communities and surrounding environment. The responsible factors for the decline have been debated, but large-scale industrial fishing is consistently deemed a dominant factor in the issue. Even so, this essay will show that the underlying issue can be found in inadequate marine management and policies. This essay draws on official reports, local testimonials, and international human rights documents to examine... (More)
- A constant decline in fish stocks have been observed globally for the better part of the last century. In Sweden, the consequence of this decline has been the 9000 year old trade of small-scale fishing slowly disappearing. The extinction of these local fisheries have consequences for not only the fishers themselves, but for their communities and surrounding environment. The responsible factors for the decline have been debated, but large-scale industrial fishing is consistently deemed a dominant factor in the issue. Even so, this essay will show that the underlying issue can be found in inadequate marine management and policies. This essay draws on official reports, local testimonials, and international human rights documents to examine the causes and impact of reduced fish stocks, local fishing communities perception of attachment and loss, as well as the notion of culture and corresponding human rights protections. To capture this I employ the concept of sense of place. Sense of place is interconnected with culture, one shaping the other, and the notion of culture is prevalent in human rights documents. The aim of this essay is to answer three questions: What is causing the decline of fish stocks in Swedish oceans? Can local small-scale fishers and fishing communities' perception of culture merit human rights protections? And if so, could a rights claim to culture be used as a tool when advocating for changes in fishing policy?
The study concludes that the sense of place framework indicates existence of a culture inherent to local fishing communities in Sweden, and that the culture in question has potential to be deployed as a tool in advocacy efforts and marine management discourses. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9208748
- author
- Hansson, Therese LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- MRSK62 20251
- year
- 2025
- type
- M2 - Bachelor Degree
- subject
- keywords
- Cultural rights, Fishing communities, Local communities, Sense of place, Small-scale fisheries, Marine policy
- language
- English
- id
- 9208748
- date added to LUP
- 2025-08-18 08:42:37
- date last changed
- 2025-08-18 08:42:37
@misc{9208748,
abstract = {{A constant decline in fish stocks have been observed globally for the better part of the last century. In Sweden, the consequence of this decline has been the 9000 year old trade of small-scale fishing slowly disappearing. The extinction of these local fisheries have consequences for not only the fishers themselves, but for their communities and surrounding environment. The responsible factors for the decline have been debated, but large-scale industrial fishing is consistently deemed a dominant factor in the issue. Even so, this essay will show that the underlying issue can be found in inadequate marine management and policies. This essay draws on official reports, local testimonials, and international human rights documents to examine the causes and impact of reduced fish stocks, local fishing communities perception of attachment and loss, as well as the notion of culture and corresponding human rights protections. To capture this I employ the concept of sense of place. Sense of place is interconnected with culture, one shaping the other, and the notion of culture is prevalent in human rights documents. The aim of this essay is to answer three questions: What is causing the decline of fish stocks in Swedish oceans? Can local small-scale fishers and fishing communities' perception of culture merit human rights protections? And if so, could a rights claim to culture be used as a tool when advocating for changes in fishing policy?
The study concludes that the sense of place framework indicates existence of a culture inherent to local fishing communities in Sweden, and that the culture in question has potential to be deployed as a tool in advocacy efforts and marine management discourses.}},
author = {{Hansson, Therese}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Depleting our coastal culture: Overfishing and its impact on the local culture of Swedish fishing communities}},
year = {{2025}},
}