Last year, the Society launched the Ryan Foster Memorial Grant to support those who have come to academia later in life or resumed study after a lengthy break. It was named in honour of Dr Ryan Foster, who passed away unexpectedly in early 2024.

The inaugural grant was awarded to Dr Zoe Pearson of the University of Wyoming, to conduct research on the practice of haaf net fishing in the Solway Firth. Having finished her fieldwork, she has submitted the below summary:

• Project: ‘Haaf Net Fishing as Living Cultural Heritage: Place, Identity, & Practice in the Solway Firth’ 

Thanks to the generous support of the Ryan Foster Memorial Grant by the Scottish Society for Northern Studies, I was able to spend almost six months in Scotland and England in the Solway Firth region, studying one of the oldest forms of fishing in the UK—with Viking roots—called haaf net fishing. Using data collected through interviews, oral histories, archival research, geospatial data collection, and fishing myself, I am investigating haaf net fishing’s disappearance and its role in local identity, social cohesion, and placemaking. In addition to the research component, I’m also working to preserve the knowledge and history of haaf netting by building an online exhibition and archive, which I hope will dovetail with the efforts of the UK Living Cultural Heritage Inventory and the United Nations 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. While in the UK, I was able to give two research presentations on the project (Durham University and the York Festival of Ideas). Back at my home institution, I am now working on the digital exhibition and archive as well as future publications and presentations.

Aside from research outcomes, this project will translate into benefits for my students as I bring my research experiences and findings into the classroom. Thank you for supporting this project!

(Other research sponsors include: the Center for Global Studies, the School of Politics, Public Affairs, and International Studies, the College of Arts & Sciences, and the Wyoming Institute for Humanities Research (University of Wyoming); the US-UK Fulbright Commission (Durham University Scholar Award); and the Durham University Geography Department. I am particularly grateful to research participants).

 

– Dr Zoe Pearson, School of Politics, Public Affairs, and International Studies, University of Wyoming, USA

Below photographs provided by Zoe Pearson (pictures fishing in grey jacket and light blue baseball cap). Photos by Steve Blake Photography: https://www.steveblakephotography.co.uk/