Paper short abstract:

The contribution presents fisheries in the Slovenian coastal towns in Istria, where many territorial, administrative and identities borders and boundaries intersect. We explore how narratives on transformation and transgression of borders are reflected by fishers and in the landscape.

Paper long abstract:

This contribution presents industrial fisheries in the Slovenian coastal towns in northwestern Istria. As a multicultural, multi-ethnic and multilingual region where many territorial borders transect and administrative and identity boundaries intersect, Istria is actively involved in the processes of inventing/innovating material and intangible "natural and cultural heritage". After the end of industrial fisheries and transformation to small-scale fisheries, coastal towns with ports faced transformation of the fishing economies.

This ethnographic exploration analyses narratives of former industrial fishers following the exodus of former Italian-speaking inhabitants after WW2. Interviews were collected as oral histories on industrial fishery focused on work migration to towns, everyday movements and work routine in the ports and in the sea.

Proposed paper deals with identity boundaries between “us” and “them”, those “connected with fishing” and “other activities”, boundaries of past migrations (exodus) from Primorska, Slovenia and new migrations to Primorska to pursue education and work in SFRY, vague boundaries between education for fishing and seafaring, implicit delimitations between the soldiers of the Yugoslav army and fishermen, boundaries on the sea for "foreigners" and "us", as well as the line between the end of socialism and the “crisis”, up to the end of industrial fisheries in Izola. Special interest will be on the questions, how these multiple processes of movements and narratives about transformation and transgression of borders are reflected in nowadays landscape of the towns, especially in the fishing ports.