The point of no return – social dimensions of losing salmon in two northern rivers

Abstract

The construction of hydropower plants in Finland’s Kemijoki and Iijoki rivers was a death blow to salmon migration in both stretches of water. Fishing migratory fish was an important source of livelihood to people living along and near the Kemijoki and Iijoki and one of the main reasons that once drew permanent settlement to the riversides. In this article we examine the meanings of migratory fish from the perspective of local people. We ask how local people have experienced the loss of salmon and how they have adapted to their new home environment that has radically changed due to alteration of the river. Besides the nutritional meaning, we have found many other aspects of migratory fish. Migratory fish and their annual rhythm belonged to the rivers’ landscapes; they had aesthetic importance as well as a strong social aspect. Losing salmon has been a catastrophe that local people still, after 60 years, find hard to accept.