S38-2

‘The Future is Looking Back’: Rocks and Relevance of Traditional Indigenous Fish Weirs

Bill Jeffery1, Lee Ming-ju2, Hsieh Hui-kuei Alice2

1University of Guam, Guam

2National Penghu University of Science and Technology, Taiwan

The focus of this paper is the traditional indigenous stone-walled tidal fish weirs of Yap, Federated States of Micronesia, and in Penghu Archipelago, Taiwan. They were built and used in balance and harmony with the natural and spiritual world for hundreds of years, and many are still used today. The cultural seascapes that developed express local cultural identities related to the resilience and sustainability that islanders’ strove for in achieving this balance and harmony. There are many similarities, as well as a number of differences in the fish weirs and the associated marine tenure system in the two regions, which could be a reflection of what works best there, and/or associated with an Austronesian cultural identity. While fish weirs world-wide have been documented and studied, it is in more recent years, particularly in this United Nations Ocean Decade of 2021-2030, and the current emphasis on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, that they are being reinvestigated, particularly in context with the associated Living Heritage, and the development of Traditional Ecological Knowledge. The need for living sustainably with our oceans, and the impacts of climate change, issues that islanders in the past have gone through, and which we face again, could assist contemporary communities to live more harmoniously world-wide. An aim of this paper is to raise an awareness about the relevance of researching fish weirs, and underwater cultural heritage in general, for the benefits they can provide contemporary and future generations. While implementing techniques in preserving fish weir remains are important in their role as mnemonic devices, a priority should be in revealing the associated Living Heritage, and researching the Traditional Ecological Knowledge so aspects can be applied today. The fish weirs are symbols of this significant and resilient knowledge, and an effective source for ‘the future by looking back.’