Two themes (sustainable fishing and biocultural heritage) guided this conversation. Here's what to expect in this episode...

Introducing our guest, Noora Huusari and what got her interested in Snowchange Cooperative?
The traditional practice of winter seine fishing in Finland. How old is this practice? 1300 since the first written record. The oldest fishing net in the world was found in Eastern Finland, and it was over 10,000 years old! This is not the cultural heritage of some remote location in Finland. It’s our heritage as a species – our biological cultural heritage (BCH) and our interconnectedness with nature. Here’s an article from Nature Conservation on why does this matter.
What makes Finland’s lake Puruvesi so special and two short films on the winter seiners of Puruvesi.
How to keep the traditional practice alive and the challenge of operating a small-scale fisheries program. The average catch this season was 250 kg and the team is on the ice once a week. Remember that it’s winter seining, which means that our climate action or inaction influences how long this practice continues.
A crispy vendace that is endemic to lake Puruvesi, which gave it a specialized European Commission label: Protected Geographical Indication (PGI). Letty made a mistake and said that this fish has the Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) label, but the correct label is PGI. Only two Finnish products have this PGI label. The other product is the rye crust pie with lingonberries. For more information about these labels, see the Finnish Food Authority. You cannot find this fish anywhere in the world. Are Finns aware of this special heritage of Finland?
A string of micro conversations about the current fish supply chain in Finland, the lack of support for the local fish and the fishing community, our inability to tell a wild fish from a cultivated one, and the ongoing battle with the salmon farms in Norway.
The global concern about food security and some random thoughts about making the connections locally through low-impact practices, such as winter seine fishing.
A stewardship message from our guest in Finnish. Non-Finnish speakers, don’t you worry. Letty has your back 😉

Where to find your local produce?

REKO Facebook group
https://www.ekompi.net/
https://www.omapelto.fi/tietoa-meista
https://lahikalatori.fi/ (Fish from Northern Karelia)
https://blogs.helsinki.fi/kumppanuusmaatalous/lahde-mukaan/loyda/ 
https://www.rannastaruokapoytaan.fi/ (Fish from the southern coast of Finland)