Abramov I.V.
Weir fishery and technic regulation of Konda Lowland rivers
ABSTRACT: The landscapes of Western Siberia predetermined the evolution of fish weirs and traps as simple and reliable ways to extract a biological resource. Local fishermen use regional climatic and landscape features: seasonal differences in water levels, flooded temporarily lakes and local natural phenomena such as oxygen starvation of fish under ice. The indigenous peoples of the Konda Lowland differed from their neighbors a water channels building and river flow regulating practices. The modernization of the twentieth century used this trait and created conditions for more strict environmental management. Special state organizations developed programs to transform land and water areas. The fisheries management Institute was established in Tyumen, and its engineers developed programs to increase catches and improve the species composition of fish. Programs were implemented in fishing farms (kolkhoz) with varying success. Some lakes became nurseries and were inhabited by valuable fish species after reclamation and engineering. Channels for better reproduction of fish and weir fishing connected small rivers and drainless swamp lakes. Fishermen set up new type fences and traps, and used tractors and planes to take out fish. The article reveals the fish specifics of the lowlands of Western Siberia, analyzes a number of projects for regulating and reconfiguring river flow in the Konda Lowland, shows the unique Soviet experience of landscape transformation and problematizes the regulatory role of humans in ecosystems.
To reports list