Torne River Dipnet Fishing – sharing living heritage

Background

Main photo: Fishing in Torne River Photo: Museum of Torne Valley / Åsa Pesula

Torne River dipnet fishing is a living cultural practice shared by communities on both sides of the Torne River, which flows into the Bothnian Bay and forms much of the border between Sweden and Finland. Although the political border was established in 1809, the river valley has remained culturally unified. People in the Torne Valley recognize dipnet fishing, inherited fishing rights, food traditions and stable multilingualism in Swedish, Finnish and Meänkieli as central elements of their common cultural heritage. Free movement in the region, supported by the Schengen Agreement, further reinforces everyday cross-border interaction.

Photo: Museum of Torne Valley / Juho Lampinen

The practice is concentrated around the Kukkolaforsen/Kukkolankoski and Matkakoski rapids. Two villages that once formed unified communities are now divided into four by the national border, yet dipnet fishing has continued with its own traditional rules despite different legal systems and infrastructures. In summer, around 150 active practitioners belonging to families with inherited fishing rights spend much of their time at the rapids. Their relatives, neighbors and friends assist in fishing, fish processing, pier building, event organization and voluntary maintenance work. Occasional dipnetters also include members of Torne Valley diaspora communities living elsewhere in Sweden, Finland and beyond, as well as interested visitors and tourists.

Fishing is organized by local associations on both sides of the river. Cultural institutions such as the Museum of Torne Valley, Norrbottens Museum and the Kukkolaforsen Fishing Museum, together with municipalities and schools in Tornio and Haparanda, raise awareness, support research and contribute to safeguarding.

Dipnet fishing is practiced from early summer until September, when salmon and whitefish migrate upstream from the Baltic Sea and Bothnian Bay to spawn. Dipnetters stand on wooden piers or anchored boats and guide long-shafted, bag-shaped dipnets close to the rocky riverbed, moving them downstream so that fish swimming upstream enter and are caught inside the net’s bag. The practice requires detailed knowledge of currents, water levels, weather, fish behavior and the structure of the rapids.

Photo: Museum of Torne Valley / Jaakko Heikkilä

The element also includes inherited farmstead-bound fishing rights and elaborate systems of catch sharing, which date back to the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and vary between villages. Distribution follows traditional local rules, first among the participating dipnetters and their farmsteads and then among other shareholders. These distribution events are public and form important social gatherings.

Photo: Museum of Torne Valley / Jaakko Heikkila

Dipnet making, net weaving and wooden pier construction using traditional damming techniques are essential skills. Each part of a pier or net has its own term, and Swedish, Finnish and Meänkieli all preserve specialized vocabularies known by the practitioners. Food culture is another core component, including grilling, smoking, curing, storing and sharing fish, often at festivals and community events. The practice is visible in schools, in local street and public space art and in music and oral traditions.

Photo: Museum of Torne Valley / Birgit Niva

Dipnet fishing is governed both by community rules and by external regulations. The yearly Fishery Rule, part of the Finnish–Swedish Transboundary River Agreement, defines fishing periods and quotas. Practitioners actively contribute to maintaining ecological balance in the river.

Why safeguard?

Although Torne River dipnet fishing is still vibrant, several factors make safeguarding necessary. Climate change, changes in the Baltic Sea ecosystem and migration barriers in tributaries threaten fish populations. Illegal and overfishing elsewhere in the Baltic Sea region also affect local sustainability, even if the Torne River itself is regulated.

Social changes present another challenge. Urbanization and demographic shifts reduce the number of young people living permanently in the area, which can weaken intergenerational transmission. At the same time, Meänkieli, one of the key languages of the practice, is endangered, and much specialized terminology exists mainly through active use in fishing and related work.

There is also a need to balance inherited local rules with national and international regulations, and to manage growing tourist interest without turning the practice into a mere spectacle. Without careful safeguarding, the ethical principles at the heart of the element—fairness, sustainability and respect for nature—could be weakened.

Safeguarding is therefore needed to secure ecological sustainability, ensure continuity of knowledge and skills, protect multilingual cultural expression, maintain fair access through inherited rights and manage visibility in a way that benefits the community.

Photo: Museum of Torne Valley / Jaakko Heikkilä

Objectives

The main objective of safeguarding Torne River dipnet fishing is to ensure that it remains a living, meaningful and sustainable practice for future generations. This includes maintaining healthy fish populations and river ecosystems, strengthening the transmission of knowledge and skills, and documenting practices, terminology and histories through the stories of individuals and families, and safeguarding the cultural landscape and built heritage connected to dipnet fishing, such as rapids areas, piers, cabins and other traditional structures.

Photo: Museum of Torne Valley / Jaakko Heikkila

Another goal is to support the cultural identity of Tornedalians through multilingualism and shared traditions, while also making the element better known at national and international levels. Responsible, community-based tourism is seen as a way to support local livelihoods without compromising cultural integrity. All safeguarding work aims to be inclusive, involving women and men of all ages and ensuring that tradition bearers themselves remain at the center of decision-making.

How it is done

Fishing associations manage daily fishing, pier construction, shift systems and catch distribution according to inherited rules. Boards elected by rights holders coordinate work, keep statistics and defend fishing rights. Learning mainly takes place at the rapids, where older and more experienced practitioners teach younger ones through oral instruction, demonstration and hands-on guidance. Occasionally, more formal courses, for example on dipnet making, are organized.

Photo: Museum of Torne Valley / Mira Kemppainen

The element was entered in the national inventories of intangible cultural heritage of Finland in 2017 and Sweden in 2018. It is now a candidate for inscription on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, with a decision expected in December 2026. The nomination process has been a major safeguarding activity and is coordinated by the Museum of Torne Valley. Since 2020, a binational working group of mainly practitioners has met regularly to prepare the nomination, write texts, select photos, participate in video production and gather community consent, which has strengthened internal dialogue and awareness.

Documentation and research also support safeguarding. In addition to coordinating the UNESCO nomination, the museum also coordinates the Interreg Aurora–funded EU project Torne Valley Dipnet Culture, launched in 2024. The project develops a joint website, organizes storytelling and small talk events, produces mobile exhibitions and a virtual reality application, and works on sustainable tourism strategies and the preservation of built heritage. Tradition bearers are involved in all stages of planning and implementation. Earlier EU projects documented practices and history, while other ongoing research focuses on fish populations and river ecology.

Schoolchildren’s general understanding of their own region, history and environment is strengthened through direct encounters with local heritage. In Haparanda, fourth graders visit Kukkolaforsen every year as part of their regular curriculum. In Tornio, fifth graders likewise visit Kukkolankoski as part of regular schooling. These experiences introduce them to fishing, ecology and local history.

Environmental action is closely linked to cultural safeguarding. The Transboundary River Agreement and its yearly Fishery Rule regulate fishing, while the TRIWA project restores tributaries and migratory routes. Local fishers contribute knowledge and data to ecological monitoring.

Key factors

The strength of safeguarding lies in community ownership, inherited rights and clear internal rules. Multilingual transmission of knowledge, close links between ecological and cultural sustainability, and the active role of practitioners in documentation and decision-making are crucial. Cross-border cooperation, support from institutions and EU programs, integration into education and a commitment to responsible tourism all contribute to the vitality of the element.

Photo: Museum of Torne Valley / Åsa Pesula

Summing up and Reflections

Torne River dipnet fishing demonstrates how intangible cultural heritage can thrive through cooperation, fairness and respect for nature. It unites communities across a national border, sustains multilingualism and links food security, ecological responsibility and cultural identity.

Safeguarding has been largely driven by practitioners themselves. They are not passive bearers but active planners, researchers and negotiators. This has strengthened their sense of responsibility and pride, but challenges remain. Climate change and marine ecosystem instability are largely beyond local control. Maintaining young people’s engagement requires constant effort, and opening the practice to visitors must not weaken inherited rights or social cohesion. Balancing tradition with innovation, such as digital tools, also requires sensitivity. In Finland, inherited dipnet fishing rights have also recently had to be defended through legal processes, showing that even long-established traditions may face new forms of pressure.

There are ongoing internal discussions about how open the practice should be, how tourism should be regulated and how rules can adapt without losing their ethical foundations. The future of dipnet fishing depends on successful environmental action at regional and international levels, continued cross-border cooperation, strong links with education and the willingness of practitioners to adapt while remaining rooted in inherited values.

Dipnet fishing is not only about catching fish. It is about solidarity, knowledge of nature, multilingual life, shared labor and the right to live meaningfully in a remote borderland. Safeguarding it is therefore cultural, social, ecological and ethical work at the same time.