This thesis explores the historical practice of managing lakes and other bodies of water with the idea to create good fishing waters for fishers and anglers. The starting point for the thesis is the use of rotenone as a piscicide to exterminate the fish populations in Swedish lakes between 1950-1970. Rotenone was used to create empty waters for the purpose of fish stocking with species of fish that were seen as more valuable for recreational fishermen. The study analyzes the use of rotenone as a method for controlling parts of nature for human profit and use. From a perspective of conservation, fishers advocated for the use of rotenone as a way to ensure the success of the fish stocking practices. I show that how metaphors connected to gardening and farming was used during the legitimization of the rotenone method to describe the species of fish which were the targets for eradication. The fish deemed unvaluable were described as weeds or trash which connected to the idea of extermination of those species. Furthermore, the treatment with rotenone was part of a bigger project in Sweden, for the establishment of public areas in nature in which citizens could practice outdoor recreation. With a framework of more- than-human entanglements I analyze the rotenone project as acts of domestication of water and fish, which additionally connected to the idea that humans should be in control of nature. The question of animal agency entered the discourse surrounding rotenone, because of the weed- fish’s tendency to return to the treated waters. The fish’s agency and intentionality were most often referred to through an anthropomorphic lens, and they were thus attributed with a human understanding of intent. I argue that the inability to see the fish’s own agency and the desire to control nature through separation were contributing factors in the failure of the rotenone project.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:uu-530257 |
| Date | January 2024 |
| Creators | Sigvardson, Inez |
| Publisher | Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för idéhistoria |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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