On understanding the history and some current problems of traditional fishery for indigenous northern nations in Khabarovsk Region

Abstract

All indigenous nations of the Amur River basin, except the Nivkh, are originated from Tungus nomadic reindeer herders, known now as the Evenks. Their coming to the Amur coincided in time with arrival of Russian pioneers. These peoples began to live sedentary only from the beginning of the 20th century. Fish was not the main food for them, they hunted on marine mammals accidentally and were almost not familiar with the seafood, their trade was a simple exchange of goods. At present time the aboriginal people of the Amur River have a right to catch fish without any permits, quotas, or leasing of fishing area, that does not concern to policy of fish resources managing. For optimization of the legislation, two remarks to the Russian Federation Law «On Fisheries…» would be enough: the term «subsistence fishing» should be introduced and the concept of «traditional way of life» should be defined more precisely.

Keywords

• indigenous nation
• nanai
• evenk
• ulcha
• nivkh
• paleoasiatic nation
• migratory nation
• ancient fishing
• fish resources management
• fishing rule