The Kambārī in the Museum of the Frankincense Land,Salalah, Oman

This article examines the kambārī vessel now housed at the Museum of the Frankincense Land, Salalah, Oman, built for display in 1980. This sewn‐plank boat type, used for fishing and lightering in Dhofar, is discussed in the context of other similar vessels in Oman, South Yemen, and Somalia. As one of only five known surviving kambaris, a detailed account of this vessel's construction is given accompanied by an accurate pictoral record.     

Sharks in the lagoon? Fishing exploitation at the Neolithic site of Suwayh 1 (Ash Sharqiyah region,Arabian Sea,Sultanate of Oman)

The study of the fish bones from the Neolithic shell midden of Suwayh 1, excavated in the 2000s, identified a total of 1060 identifiable fish bones, from 23 families, 33 genera and 28 different species. Radiocarbon dating demonstrates that the sites date to the early 6th to mid 5th millennium BC. The results follow an eight-phase chronology highlighted by an earlier malacological study. The most important taxa were the Carcharhinidae (requiem shark), Rhinopteridae (cownose rays), Sparoidea (Sparidae and Lethrinidae: sea breams and emperors) and Ariidae (sea catfishes). The results of the fish study show that the Suwayh lagoon must have gradually opened up to the sea and been populated with mangroves. The unique presence of so many sharks at this site seems to indicate that the inhabitants had a special interest in shark fishing and that their location was ideal for this specialised activity. Two types of fishing nets and hooks have been discovered, which require the use of different fishing techniques.     

Farmer-fishermen: interior lake fishing and inter-cultural and intra-cultural relations among coastal and interior Sámi communities in northern Sweden AD 1200–1600

Although the productive fishing grounds had long attracted the Crown and the Church to northern Sweden, it was not until the sixteenth century that the judicial and fiscal powers of the Swedish Crown were exercised in full. Records show that the regular fishing in interior lakes formed a prominent enterprise among coastal farmer communities. This paper examines the social and economic context of farmers engaged in interior fishing with respect to the internal organization of village communities, principles of private and collective ownership, land-use strategies and inter-community relations. There are no a-priori assumptions about the coastal population being “Swedish”. Instead of applying ethnonyms, the terms “farmer” and “coastal” are used throughout the paper. The main area of investigation includes the coastal area of northernmost Sweden and the western parts of Finnish Lapland. The study shows that interior lakes fitted into village resource areas, long sanctioned by usage, and that usufruct belonged to village members collectively. A large part of the fishing lakes are situated in interior Sámi territory. Fishermen were internalizing Sámi place names, implying close relations between the groups. Archeological investigations point to subsistence strategies including systemic interior lake fishing being established before AD 1200. The authors propose that coastal and interior communities should be perceived as two economic strategies representing indigenous and pre-colonial land-use schemes.     

考古学所见长江三峡夏商周时期的渔业生产

本通过对考古发现的长江三峡渔具和鱼类遗骸的统计分析,将该区域内夏商周时期的渔业生产分为东、西两大区域,并对两区的鱼具及鱼类进行归纳、分析和比较,指出研究先秦渔业,对认识三峡古代化、中国渔业史和鱼类生态,具有重要的意义。     

Late Holocene economic specialisation through aquatic resource exploitation at Kobadi in the Méma,Mali

Following the last humid phase of the Late Holocene, human groups left the Saharan latitudes of northern Mali at around 2500 cal. years BC to settle further south. The Kobadi population was among the first Neolithic human groups to enter the Niger Inland Delta in central Mali. People adapted to their new environment by intensifying one of their former subsistence practices, namely fishing. The rich and diversified ichthyofauna exploited was dominated by large Nile perches and a variety of catfish taxa. It testifies to relatively stable hydrological conditions: a fluvial lake which was probably linked permanently to the main Niger River. Fish were caught with harpoons and probably also with diverse fishing devices such as nets, baskets and fences. Preparation processes prior to cooking cannot be determined, but fish were probably cooked on hot coals or stones, the left‐overs of the meals being discarded randomly at the site. Intense exploitation of the aquatic environment near Kobadi provided an abundant, secure and predictable source of protein. Besides fish and riparian mammals, reptiles such as turtles, monitors and crocodile were hunted. Domestic cattle provided milk and/or meat. These animals were either raised at the site or obtained by means of exchange with pastoral groups roaming the hinterlands. From the 2^nd millennium BC, the focus on aquatic resources at Kobadi, mostly through the intensification of fish exploitation, may demonstrate the beginning of economic specialisation in the Niger Inland Delta. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Economic development,marine protected areas and gendered access to fishing resources in a Polynesian lagoon

This study examines the potential socio-spatial impacts of a new series of marine protected areas (MPAs) on fishers in Moorea, French Polynesia. The establishment of the MPAs is contextualized within recent and historical processes of economic development and theories of women in development and gender, culture and development. Seventy adults from three neighborhoods in Moorea were interviewed. Analysis of the data provides new information about the characteristics of fishing in Moorea. Unlike most fishing cultures and communities throughout the Pacific Islands, men and women in Moorea have similar, as opposed to segregated, spatial patterns of fishing activities and fishing methods. The study also points out the potential negative impacts of the MPAs on both men and women, particularly younger and lower-income fishers.     

Fishing-gear sinkers recovered from an underwater wreckage site, off the Carmel coast, Israel

A classification scheme for the large number of fishing-gear sinkers recovered along the Israeli coast is devised. Sinkers, or weights, of lead and stone are classified by material, shape and method of manufacture.