Approach and Methodology

There are different perspectives on the impact of climate change (CC) on intangible cultural heritage (ICH). This case study explores different perspectives on the connection between CC and the Carnikava lamprey-catching tradition in Latvia, bringing together the viewpoints and experiences of tradition-bearers and scientists. In-depth semi-structured focus group interviews were the primary data collection method. They enabled interviewees, including the tradition-bearers and practitioners, local communities, scientists from various natural science fields and representatives of the local government to articulate their perspectives. During the data collection period in the spring of 2023, a total of nine individuals representing diverse stakeholder segments were interviewed. In face-to-face and online interviews, we asked questions such as: Is CC affecting the local lamprey-fishing tradition in any way? How are you perceiving that? Has the impact of CC been noticed at all? Have any solutions been proposed to adapt (e.g. through practical actions; legislation; or planning documents at the community, local authority, regional or national levels)? Literature studies, mass media monitoring and retrieval of up-to-date information from public online repositories of legal and policy documents at the national and EU levels were also important for secondary data collection.

The research presented in this article is derived from the methodological framework of the Erasmus+ project GreenHeritage: The Impact of Climate Change on the Intangible Cultural Heritage (2022–2025). It has brought together partner institutions from Latvia, Italy, Spain, Greece and Belgium¹ to work on direct and indirect impacts of CC in the field of ICH – a topic which has until now received relatively little European policy attention (European Union 2022) and had a strong emphasis on the traditional knowledge of Indigenous peoples in scholarship (e.g. Goswami 2015; Higgins 2022; Kim 2011). Through more than ten case studies in Europe, types of threats linked to CC and causal links or probabilities of causation are currently being identified within the project, and traditional lamprey fishing in Carnikava is one such case study.

Lamprey Catching and Cooking Tradition in Carnikava

Carnikava,² a village in Latvia with a centuries-old history, is considered Latvia's ‘lamprey capital’. Its location at the Gauja River mouth has contributed to the village's economic development, and lamprey and salmon fishing have played a major role in this. Fishing has been one of the basic occupations of villagers for centuries. This natural resource has allowed the development of local fishing traditions (Cimermanis 1964), specific vocabulary regarding fishing grounds, natural phenomena and human activities related to the sea and rivers (Laumane 2015) and beliefs related to fishing (Ligers 1944) as well as lamprey processing and cooking traditions. Ethno-linguistic diversity in villages all along the Baltic Sea coast has been shaped by both the often-isolated way of life and the folklore distinctive to a particular place (Laumane 2013).

The tradition of lamprey catching is closely linked to the life cycle of the species. The European river lamprey (Lampetra fluviatilis) is a jawless fish-like species of agnathans (the most primitive group of extant vertebrates) found in a wide range across Europe from Finland in the north-east to Ireland and Spain in the west. It is an anadromous species, which means that adult lampreys, after reaching sexual maturity, migrate from the sea to rivers for spawning in autumn and winter. The activity of the lamprey is nocturnal; they only swim in the dark. Lampreys spawn in rivers from May to June. After hatching, the lamprey larvae spend three to six years in the riverbed sediment. When they grow up, they migrate to the sea, where they reach sexual maturity in one to three years and then return to the rivers for spawning (Putnis 2022). The most productive locations for lamprey catching are the mouths of large rivers, through which a large number of lampreys enter the river basins during their migration to spawning grounds. Lampreys are caught also in other rivers of Latvia; however, the Gauja lamprey from Carnikava has received special visibility, and the local community is keen to highlight their superiority in quality and flavour (Carnikava Municipal Council 2020: 3).

In Carnikava, the lamprey is caught between 1 August and 31 January in traps (murds; Figure 1), closed tail-end constructions, placed near the mouth of the Gauja River. In the past, building a dam or weir (tacis) was also practised. But traps are generally a simpler and older method of catching lampreys (Bīlenšteins 2007: 365). The design of the trap depends on the characteristics of the riverbed, so they have different variations in Latvia. Traps in Carnikava are round and large, and are made of linen. The technique and gear of lamprey catching have remained unchanged for an extremely long time and are, therefore, viewed with humour by fishermen themselves: ‘We are still stuck in prehistory’ (interview with fisherman Artūrs, 27 March 2023). Catching lampreys is inseparable from the skills and knowledge passed down from generation to generation, which are based on an understanding of the life cycles and behaviours of the inhabitants of the waters. The interviewed fisherman Artūrs said: ‘The lamprey needs to feel the fresh water of the river in the sea. The bigger the current, the further the water stretches out into the sea. The lampreys swim by, feel it and come in immediately’. Fishermen take boats into the river, where they set traps in the riverbed, into which the lampreys then swim at night. Then the fishermen go after them, pulling out the traps into which the lampreys had swum.

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Arvīds Ozoliņš, the oldest fisherman in Carnikava, with a lamprey trap. © Sandra Baltruka / Carnikava Municipal Council, 2013.

Citation: Anthropological Journal of European Cultures 33, 1; 10.3167/ajec.2024.330104

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The usual method of preparation for eating lamprey is roasting. Removed from the trap, the lampreys are arranged in rows on roasting racks and baked in an oven. The grates are placed on hot alder wood coals, and the lampreys are turned over with special wooden chopsticks during roasting, which continues for four to five minutes on each side until they are golden brown. The roasted lampreys are placed in a bowl, covered with boiling water, seasoned with salt and mashed until soft. The water is then poured off, and the lampreys are cooled and flattened with a wooden board or other press before being placed in a bucket. This is why Carnikava's lampreys are called ‘flat lampreys’. Other ways of preparing lampreys are known in the area and include, for example, the use of vegetable oils (Švābe et al. 1936: 28657–28660). The designation of Carnikava's lampreys translates to ‘fried lampreys in jelly’.

The promotion of lamprey fishing and cooking traditions in Carnikava involves active participation from the local community and municipality. Since 2001, the annual Lamprey Festival has been organised in Carnikava every August to celebrate the start of the lamprey fishing season (Figure 2). The festival features diverse activities such as an artisans’ market, a procession, sports events, a boat parade, a concert, a lamprey fast-eating competition and the preparation of Carnikava's famous lamprey soup in a 400-litre pot. The lamprey has become a prominent symbol for Carnikava's tourism industry, with travel companies offering ‘Lamprey trips’ and active fishermen providing ‘Lamprey lessons’ at the local history centre to educate visitors about the tradition and raise awareness about related issues.

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Ilmārs Prauliņš, the local entrepreneur, cooking lampreys during the annual Lamprey Festival in Carnikava: a moment of turning the lampreys on the other side. © Sandra Baltruka / Carnikava Municipal Council, 2015.

Citation: Anthropological Journal of European Cultures 33, 1; 10.3167/ajec.2024.330104

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Realising the value of their traditional skills and knowledge, the local community and municipality have promoted the recognition of the lamprey fishing tradition. In 2009, the State Heraldry Commission approved the coat of arms of Carnikava with an image of a lamprey. In 2015, Carnikava lamprey was added to the European Union's Register of Protected Geographical Indications (European Commission 2015). In 2019, Lamprey Fishing and Preparation Skills in Carnikava were included in Latvia's National Intangible Cultural Heritage Inventory.

Along with various anthropogenic and environmental factors, the life cycle and population sustainability of lampreys are also affected by CC driven by rising air temperatures. Christina Wang and colleagues state that

evidence supports the likelihood that climate change will affect the physiology and phenology of lampreys as well as their distribution and contributions to communities and ecosystems. However, when considering their length of time on the planet, evolutionary history resulting from that time, multitude of life history expressions and range of distribution, it is possible that lampreys may be relatively resilient to climate change. (Wang et al. 2021: S197)

However, the question remains whether lamprey fishermen will also be able to adapt to the changes that lampreys will probably adapt to.

Climate Change Impact on Carnikava Lamprey Fishing: Different Perspectives

The Carnikava lamprey fishing community consists of fishermen, lamprey bakers, local individuals passionate about preserving this tradition, and the dedicated staff of the Local History Centre. Throughout the interviews, these groups displayed a cohesive and unified perspective. In their application to include this tradition on the National Intangible Cultural Heritage Inventory, they emphasised the greatest threat faced by this tradition: the declining population of lampreys. This pressing concern is also shared by conservationists. In addition to the pollution of rivers and seas, historical dams and poaching, CC is now widely recognised as a significant factor contributing to the decline in the lamprey population. To better understand the effects of CC, the opinions of fishermen and the local community on the impact of CC on the lamprey population were juxtaposed with the comments of scientists.

The following impacts of CC were discussed in the focus group interviews: the loss of seasonal sea ice and changes in the distribution and behaviour of animal species. The primary issue that emerges from the community interviews is climate warming and loss of seasonal sea ice in winter, which, as it has been observed by local fishermen, now allows grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) to stay in the Gulf of Riga all year round, including during the lamprey fishing period in winter. Seals seriously harm fishing because they specialise in obtaining food from fishermen's nets and traps, eating fish from them. Since grey seals in Latvia are a protected mammal species, fishermen's abilities to protect their catch from seals are limited. At every life stage, lampreys are prey for other fish, birds and mammals. Although changes in species’ interactions due to CC have not been specifically studied regarding lampreys, physiological and phenological changes throughout their life cycles and shifts in the distribution of other species have the potential to greatly affect lamprey interactions with other species and community composition (Wang et al. 2021: 194). In assessing the current situation in Carnikava, biologists do not consider this to be a serious threat to the lamprey population. Thus, the changed behaviour of seals is currently seriously affecting the lamprey fishing tradition, although it is not significantly affecting the lamprey population.

Another impact of CC is the changed frost/thaw cycles. The warming climate is causing frequent winter thaws, rapid temperature fluctuations and ice flows in rivers at unusual times, which is severely hampering lamprey fishing. Under such conditions, it is not possible to set traps during the peak fishing season in the Gauja. The fishermen said that the traditional beliefs and weather forecasting used by fishermen no longer work. Due to the impact of CC, traditional knowledge no longer corresponds to reality.

While in the short term the winter thaws affect the lamprey-catching tradition more than the lampreys themselves, in the long term the consequences of CC can seriously impact lamprey population growth. Biologists consider changes in the hydrological regime of rivers a serious threat to the natural regeneration of the lamprey population. As a result of CC, the spring flood season begins earlier in winter during the lamprey migration season. Unlike salmon, another anadromous fish, river lampreys do not have a homing instinct that would make them return to their native river for spawning. When migrating from the sea to rivers, lampreys follow inflows into the sea. Although there are no large hydroelectric power stations in the Gauja, there are several in the Daugava, whose mouth is only seventeen kilometres from the Gauja mouth. During the flood season, the hydroelectric power stations on the Daugava operate at an increased rate, causing a greater influx of freshwater into the sea, drawing migrating lampreys from the Gauja to the Daugava. The first hydroelectric power station on the Daugava is only thirty kilometres from its mouth, and the riverbed in this section of the Daugava is not suitable for successful lamprey larvae development. Lampreys spawning in the Daugava are not productive, which affects the population decline (interview with biologist Kaspars Abersons, 24 April 2023). Thus, although currently lamprey fishing is more affected by unfavourable weather conditions, in the long term the sustainability of the tradition is potentially threatened by the CC-induced decrease in the lamprey population.

A fourth impact of CC is rising (fresh) water temperatures, which is most definitely a further concern. Apart from the previously described problems identified by lamprey fishermen, another important CC impact is mentioned in the scientific debate – namely rising (fresh)water temperatures. Although this problem has not yet been observed by the Carnikava community, a further rise in air temperature could bring this to the fore. Rising freshwater temperatures could have a negative impact on lampreys in several ways: (a) the embryonic stage of lampreys is incredibly sensitive. Increased incubation temperatures may have a delayed effect after hatching, where survival to the burrowing stage appears to have a negative relationship with temperature; (b) water temperature and flow can also have an effect on the growth of adult lampreys. Water temperature and river discharge are generally believed to be major factors influencing the activity of European river lamprey; (c) in European river lamprey, increased water temperature was found to have a negative relationship with sperm production, and it also influenced ovulation (Wang et al. 2021: 189–191).

Conclusions and Policy Prospects

The impact of CC on ICH is a relatively new field of research and conservation. While this issue is gradually gaining attention from ICH institutions, some heritage communities in Latvia are already experiencing the impact of CC. Through this case study, it becomes evident that CC affects the lamprey-catching tradition in various ways. On one hand, it disrupts the application of traditional lamprey-fishing skills and knowledge. On the other hand, CC leads to the decline of the European river lamprey population, which threatens the sustainability of the tradition. With a significant decrease in the lamprey population, the lamprey-catching tradition itself may become a threat to the lamprey population. Therefore, there is a risk that, for conservation purposes, lamprey fishing may eventually be prohibited altogether. In other words, there may be a point where a choice has to be made between the preservation of biological diversity and the protection of ICH. The need to safeguard the traditional skills impacted by CC until now has only been recognised and addressed by the heritage community and the local municipality.

Measures aimed at protecting the lamprey as a biological species, including artificial reproduction, fishing regulations and population monitoring, have been partially implemented. The National Plan on the Adaptation of Latvia to Climate Change till 2030 has been developed and adopted by a decree of the Cabinet of Ministers in 2019. Risks to fisheries caused by CC are stated therein, research-based monitoring of fish resources are planned and financial instruments for adaptation are envisaged (Cabinet of Ministers 2019). Special funding is planned for municipalities to adapt to CC, with funding planned to start with the year 2024 (Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development 2023). Local fishers in Carnikava in co-operation with the municipality are planning to apply for this funding to secure the sustainability of their traditional lamprey-fishing practice. Thereby, policy instruments for mitigating CC impacts and fostering adaptation are envisaged to be put in use also with regard to sustaining the practice of lamprey fishing as ICH.