In pursuit of wildness : genomic science, risk, and the production of wild salmon
department or school: Arts, Faculty of
department or school: Sociology, Department of
data provider: DSpace
degree campus: UBCV
creator: Berseth, Valerie
issued: 2022-03-03T21:28:23Z
issued: 2022
related degree: Doctor of Philosophy - PhD
degree grantor: University of British Columbia
description: Pacific Salmon (Onchorhynchus, spp.) are a socially and ecologically significant group of species. Many populations have been experiencing significant declines in North America. To compensate for these losses, Canada and other Pacific countries artificially breed and release millions of salmon every year. The biggest question for those that produce and depend on salmon is whether these artificially produced salmon can be understood, classified, and made sufficiently “wild.” This dissertation draws on interviews with 147 people in salmon management (scientists, managers, hatchery staff, fishers, environmental organizations), document analysis, and 88 hours of participant observation to examine how people understand and pursue wildness in the context of Pacific salmon. I compare how hatchery salmon have been framed in policy debates in Canada and the United States. I find that scientific uncertainty about the wildness of hatchery fish facilitated political and legal contests between actors with differing social and ecological values and interests. As a result, hatchery fish have been defined differently over time and space. I also examine the biopolitics of wildness in the context of hatchery practices. Emerging genomic science has shown that hatchery rearing domesticates salmon and negatively impacts survival, not only for salmon in hatcheries but for wild populations as well. Hatcheries have responded by seeking to produce salmon that are genetically as wild as possible, ultimately reshaping salmon at multiple levels, from genes to species. Finally, I employ a material-semiotic analysis of risk perceptions related to the possibility of selectively breeding hatchery salmon for characteristics such as climate adaptation. While respondents expressed concerns about climate change, for most, the risks of humans intervening in nature outweighed possible benefits of producing climate resilient salmon. However, there was interest in selective breeding as a means of genetica…
aggregated CHO: https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/80913
note: IN PURSUIT OF WILDNESS: GENOMIC SCIENCE, RISK, AND THE PRODUCTION OF WILD SALMON by Valerie Berseth B.A., York University, 2012 M.A., York University, 2014 A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES (Sociology) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) March 2022 © Valerie Berseth, 2022 ii The following individuals certify that they have read, and recommend to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies for acceptance, the dissertation entitled: In Pursuit of Wildness: Genomic Science, Risk, and the Production of Wild Salmon. submitted by Valerie Berseth in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology Examining Committee: Dr. Ralph Matthews, Professor, Sociology, UBC Supervisor Dr. Catherine Corrigall-Brown, Associate Professor, Sociology, UBC Supervisory Committee Member Dr. Rima Wilkes, Professor, Sociology, UBC Supervisory Committee Member Dr. Terre Satterfield, Professor, Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability, UBC University Examiner Dr. Emily Huddart-Kennedy, Associate Professor, Sociology, UBC University Examiner iii Abstract Pacific Salmon (Onchorhynchus, spp.) are a socially and ecologically significant group of species. Many populations have been experiencing significant declines in North America. To compensate for these losses, Canada and other Pacific countries artificially breed and release millions of salmon every year. The biggest question for those that produce and depend on salmon is whether these artificially produced salmon can be understood, classified, and made sufficiently “wild.” This dissertation draws on interviews with 147 people in salmon management (scientists, managers, hatchery staff, fishers, environmental organizations), document analysis, and 88 hours of participant observation to examine how people understand and pursue wildness in the context of…
has type: Thesis/Dissertation
date issued: 2022-05
is shown at: 10.14288/1.0406695
language: eng
degree discipline: Sociology
provider: Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
publisher: University of British Columbia
rights: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
rights URI: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
scholar level: Graduate
contributor: Matthews, Ralph, 1943-
type: Text
identifier URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/80913