A Field Diary from Lake Muddusjärvi : Nets, Coffee, and Burbot

Helena, a Master’s student from Finland, recently spent a week at one of the FROST study lakes conducting interviews to better understand how warming winters are affecting local communities.

During her visit to Finnish Lapland, she also joined fishers on the ice and took part in fishing and gutting, gaining firsthand insight into daily practices and changing conditions.

She has kindly agreed to share some of her experiences with us.

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My fieldwork at Lake Muddusjärvi included interesting conversations in fishers' kitchens over a cup of coffee, cold fingers while checking winter gillnets and tasting a local delicacy- fresh burbot liver.

Hauling winter nets with eight hands is a convenient task. The burbot is in good spawning condition and happily tangles the nets, giving the fishermen thus a little headache. 

The interviewer enjoys the fresh winter weather in the snowmobile driven by the driver who knows the terrain best.

February is cold at Lake Muddus, and when the temperatures drop to -25 Celcius, checking the nets is preferably postponed until the next day.

According to fishers, this winter has been "a proper one", and the ice has formed in a way suitable for fishing. This is good news, as recent years have been worse: in autumn, during the best whitefish season, when snow falls quickly on top of thin black ice, fishers usually cannot venture out onto the ice. 

Gutting burbot in professional company.

Fishers have their own interesting observations about fish stocks and the condition of the fish. They are also able to empathize with the life of fish beneath the ice. By combining fishers' experiences with biological sampling, we can build an overall picture of Lake Muddus' winter conditions, now and in the future. 

Fresh burbot liver, pan-fried, is among the finest rewards after a fishing trip.

The fishermen of Lake Muddusjärvi are wilderness men in many respects. Their skills in observing nature, hunting, and handling meat can be inferred from the décor of the living room.

Texte by Helena Syrjänen

Permission have been granted by fishermen to share the pictures.