The Project

         Individuals and communities throughout the world depend on fish not only for their economic and nutritional livelihoods, but also for cultural identity and a sense of place. The social narratives of human cultures are inextricably linked with the unspoken narratives of fish migrations.  Unfortunately, the fish are dying.  According to the International Rivers organization, over one-third of the world’s freshwater fish are extinct, endangered, or vulnerable.  Because migratory fish must travel large distances between their feeding grounds and spawning areas, they are exposed to a wide variety of threats, further complicated when fish don’t obey geo-political boundaries.  The intimate relationships and narratives that have developed and been sustained for millennia between fish and people are as much at risk as the fish themselves.

          Beginning in July of 2011, I will spend the twelve months exploring the traditional and contemporary relationships between humans and migratory fish throughout the world.  My travels and studies will take me from British Columbia, to Bolivia, to Brazil, to Bangladesh, to Mongolia and finally to Laos.  I hope to observe and document what is at stake on a human level as migratory fish populations are threatened. Throughout the year I will observe and participate in the daily life of the river – learning local fishing techniques, fly-fishing, exploring fish markets, participating in local conservation efforts, assisting researchers, and collecting stories from the people who live and work on the river and its banks.  I will interview a wide range of people including fishers, scientists, guides, government officials, cooks, artists, and local leaders, in order to better understand the multidimensional connections between humans and fish.

          Though the locations that I will be traveling to represent a variety of ecosystems, geographic locations, political histories, community structures, environmental threats, and levels of development, I am curious to see what these locations also have in common.  Are there methods of conservation used in one location that could potentially be applied in different watersheds?  Does the river and the act of fishing create a social space for informal storytelling and information sharing? How does the migration of fish fit into that space?  Does the human-fish relationship transcend culture?

          I have had the honor of receiving a Watson fellowship to fund this project. The Watson fellowship offers college graduates a year of “independent, purposeful exploration and travel to enhance their capacity for resourcefulness, imagination, openness, and leadership and to foster their humane and effective participation in the world community.”