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When protection becomes exclusion: eel fishing and heritage governance along Ålakusten (the Eel Coast)

Quinn, Clara LU (2026) In Master Thesis in Environmental Studies and Sustainability Science MESM02 20261
LUCSUS (Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies)
Abstract
The governance of Ålakusten’s eel fishery reveals a growing tension between species conservation and the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage. Using a qualitative case study design, this thesis combines a social-ecological systems analysis of policy documents with a critical heritage studies analysis of oral histories and an expert interview to examine how eel fishing is governed and represented. The analysis shows a structural mismatch between stock-recovery governance and living heritage: policy frames the fishery through quantitative targets and centralised control, while local actors describe an intergenerational practice rooted in family histories, specialised knowledge and social ritual. The thesis concludes that recognition... (More)
The governance of Ålakusten’s eel fishery reveals a growing tension between species conservation and the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage. Using a qualitative case study design, this thesis combines a social-ecological systems analysis of policy documents with a critical heritage studies analysis of oral histories and an expert interview to examine how eel fishing is governed and represented. The analysis shows a structural mismatch between stock-recovery governance and living heritage: policy frames the fishery through quantitative targets and centralised control, while local actors describe an intergenerational practice rooted in family histories, specialised knowledge and social ritual. The thesis concludes that recognition alone is insufficient and that governance requires differentiated conservation rules, formal roles for local heritage actors and structured inclusion of traditional ecological knowledge if ecological recovery and cultural continuity are to be sustained together. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Quinn, Clara LU
supervisor
organization
course
MESM02 20261
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Sustainability Science, Ålakusten, Intangible Cultural Heritage, Social-Ecological Systems, Critical Heritage Studies
publication/series
Master Thesis in Environmental Studies and Sustainability Science
report number
2026:022
language
English
id
9229989
date added to LUP
2026-06-03 14:33:42
date last changed
2026-06-03 14:33:42
@misc{9229989,
  abstract     = {{The governance of Ålakusten’s eel fishery reveals a growing tension between species conservation and the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage. Using a qualitative case study design, this thesis combines a social-ecological systems analysis of policy documents with a critical heritage studies analysis of oral histories and an expert interview to examine how eel fishing is governed and represented. The analysis shows a structural mismatch between stock-recovery governance and living heritage: policy frames the fishery through quantitative targets and centralised control, while local actors describe an intergenerational practice rooted in family histories, specialised knowledge and social ritual. The thesis concludes that recognition alone is insufficient and that governance requires differentiated conservation rules, formal roles for local heritage actors and structured inclusion of traditional ecological knowledge if ecological recovery and cultural continuity are to be sustained together.}},
  author       = {{Quinn, Clara}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  series       = {{Master Thesis in Environmental Studies and Sustainability Science}},
  title        = {{When protection becomes exclusion: eel fishing and heritage governance along Ålakusten (the Eel Coast)}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}