Rebounding From Extractivism: The history and re-assertion of traditional weir-fishing practices in the Interior Sea of Chiloé

Abstract

This study analyses the use of traditional fishing weirs in the Interior Sea of Chiloé, in southern Chile. Although fishing weirs were in operation the time of the arrival of the first Europeans in the area in the mid-16th Century, when the indigenous Chono and Williche populations led distinctly aquapelagic lifestyles, we contend that they proliferated in subsequent centuries during the process of mestizaje (mixing) between indigenous populations and Spanish settlers and in response to the pressure exerted by population growth and associated social transformations in an insular location. Weirs remained in use until the second half of the 20th Century but have fallen into disuse in recent times due to the profound socio-productive changes resulting from modern development models favouring intense extractivism. Such developments have exacerbated socio-environmental conflicts and caused a population decline in small islands in the region. Based on our discussions of the above, we propose that the traditional insular fisheries model has allowed sustainable inhabitation of these islands; that its decline has dismantled key community assets; and that a return to socially-managed, non-extractivist fishery practices is essential for regional communities.

Biocultural Calendars Across Four Ethnolinguistic Communities in Southwestern South America

“…Today, fish weirs are also used as storage sites for algae and other functions. In Chiloe there are a thousand of these “corrals” that were used by island families until recent historical times (Álvarez, 2016 ; Álvarez et al., 2008 ).…”

“…Sea lettuce ( Ulva sp. (Linnaeus, 1753)) and other seaweeds are harvested during the pilcanes (Álvarez et al., 2008 ). In short, in Chiloe, agriculture, fishing, and gathering practices are interconnected in complex lunar, biological, and cultural calendars (FSP, 2016 ).…”

Evidencias locales del cambio climático y sus impactos: ejemplos desde Sudamérica

“…El archipiélago de Chiloé, en el sur de Chile, es reconocido mundialmente por su agricultura de pequeña escala (Koohafkan & Altieri, 2011). Desde tiempos prehispánicos, los pueblos Chono y Huilliche, habitantes de las casi 40 islas que componen el archipiélago, basaron su alimentación en la pesca, la recolección de productos del bosque y el mar, y la agricultura de pequeña escala (Cárdenas Álvarez & Villagrán Moraga, 2005;Ristaino & Pfister, 2016;Álvarez et al, 2019). En la actualidad, numerosas familias huilliche, así como familias no indígenas, continúan practicando la agricultura de pequeña escala aplicando conocimiento y técnicas locales.…”

A Twitter-Lived Red Tide Crisis on Chiloé Island, Chile: What Can Be Obtained for Social-Ecological Research through Social Media Analysis?

“…Within this context, Chiloé is a widely employed case study on the sustainability of fishing ecosystems, especially in association with the sustainability of salmon and shellfish aquaculture and their environmental and social impacts on the island and its population [114][115][116][117][118]. The 2016 events have contributed to boosting this literature, with new contributions multiplying in recent years, covering long-term socio-cultural and social-ecological trends and transformations contributing to explain the crisis [44,119,120], the specific influence played by the salmon dumping on the crisis [46]; local perceptions on the crisis and its relationship with climate and environmental change [121] and the different frames employed in media coverage of the crisis [47,122]. Noticeably, only one of these studies [48] makes use of social media analyses, and as we observe in detail in the next section, it is focused on the limited use of these platforms for concrete political actions than on the evolution of social media communications as a way to understand the underlying dynamics of the crisis.…”