VOA科学技术2024--Climate Change Affects Traditional Spearfishing

Cold nights, on Chippewa Flowage, a lake in the state of Wisconsin, do not stop 15-year-old Gabe Bisonette. He has been learning spearfishing, a tradition of the Ojibwe Native American tribe, for a long time. Ojibwe and other indigenous¹ people are fighting to keep this way of fishing alive.

But the number of walleye fish in the lake is decreasing due to warming waters, seasonal² changes and lake development. Losing this fish would mean losing a food source for community members and a deep connection to tradition and nature.

Many in the community say that with science and good management, they will be able to continue this tradition in the future. But there is also concern about the changes that are already happening.

"We've seen things here over the last couple of years that I've never seen before," said Brian Bisonette, Gabe's uncle. He and Gabe are both members of the Lac Courte Oreilles Tribe. The group is one of the bands of the Ojibwe people.

Bisonette is the conservation director of Lac Courte Oreilles Conservation Department. He said past tribal³ leaders understood the need for securing enough food to live in their homeland. So, they got the right to hunt, fish, and gather wild rice in certain areas as part of 19th-century treaties. These same treaties gave land to settlers.

But for a long time after that, the state of Wisconsin lessened⁴ treaty rights of tribes. In some cases, officials even arrested members for taking part in tribal activities.

A 1983 Supreme⁵ Court decision held up the rights of the Ojibwe people. As a result, angry locals showed up at lakes to trouble tribal members. They damaged vehicles, shouted racist⁶ comments and shot at spearfishers.

Today, officials guard every boat landing. But incidents still happen.

Tribes and local conservation teams are finding ways to protect walleye and the spearing tradition. Spearfishers are required to get permits that limit the number of fish they can take. And some lakes are filled with fish born in a hatchery and released into the lake. But still the goal in many cases is to increase natural reproduction.

"Whether it's tribal or non-tribal, this is a concern for all of us," Bisonette said.

Lake ecosystems⁷ in danger

On another lake, Lac Courte Oreilles, Department of Natural Resources (DNR) biologist Max Wolter and supervisor⁸ Angelena Sikora look for walleye, too.

They capture, measure, and record the size and sex of the fish. The goal is to get a clear picture of the fish populations of inland lakes, including Chippewa Flowage and Lac Courte Oreilles.

The DNR gathers this information in partnership⁹ with tribal conservation partners and the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission.

After examining the numbers, experts across all groups are noticing signs of change.

Wolter said, "It's not that the adult walleye are just dying out, it's that the amount of reproduction isn't happening at the same levels that it used to, especially in certain water bodies."

Climate change is affecting the home of the fish. Walleyes do best in unclear waters. But because of long periods of severely¹⁰ dry weather, or drought, the flow of rivers into the lake has lessened. This leads to clearer water.

In 2022, Wisconsin's Department of Natural Resources updated its conservation plan for walleye, with a focus on climate change. And in January 2023, the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission released the updated version of its climate change vulnerability report. The report addresses many concerns that tribal members have.

Tribes are first to see change

Tribal member Kelly Martin has been spearfishing with his family for many years. He has seen changes firsthand. One year he was surprised by how early the season started. There was no ice on the lake.

Martin also has seen waters changed by land development. After the pandemic, he observed a great increase in the building of lakefront homes. Martin himself works as a roofing contractor¹¹.

Many northern Wisconsin tribal members have watched as more people have moved into their small community. Some come to vacation or for a "climate-proof" home. The area has a large supply of fresh water and is safe from rising sea levels.

But those newcomers and summer visitors are not the ones who depend on nature for food. And they are not the ones fighting for traditions that go back generations.

As inland lakes warm with climate change, tribal members experience the effects first. With their generational knowledge of the lakes, Bisonette and others invested in spearfishing will continue fighting to do so.

For now, because of conservation efforts, Martin spears enough fish to help feed elders in the community. He and others work long hours preparing the fish and taking it people in the community. Martin says he loves these visits because he gets to listen to stories of the elders.

"Some of these people ... that's how they grew up. This is what their life is ... doing this. I just hope I get to be like that," Martin said.

Words in This Story

tribe - n. a social group composed chiefly of numerous families, clans¹², or generations having a shared ancestry¹³ and language

indigenous produced, growing, living, or occurring natively or naturally in a particular region or environment

conservation - n. a careful preservation¹⁴ and protection of something, especially : planned management of a natural resource to prevent exploitation, destruction, or neglect

hatchery - n. a place for hatching eggs

reproduction - n. the process by which plants and animals give rise to offspring and which fundamentally consists of the segregation¹⁵ of a portion of the parental¹⁶ body by a sexual or an asexual process and its subsequent growth and differentiation¹⁷ into a new individual

inland -adj. of or relating to the interior of a country

level - n. an amount of something especially in comparison with typical or expected amounts

focus - n. a center of activity, attraction, or attention

vulnerability - n. open to attack or damage

roof - n. the upper covering part of a building

1 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

2 seasonal   

adj.季节的，季节性的

参考例句：

• The town relies on the seasonal tourist industry for jobs.这个城镇依靠季节性旅游业提供就业机会。
• The hors d'oeuvre is seasonal vegetables.餐前小吃是应时蔬菜。

3 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

4 lessened   

减少的，减弱的

参考例句：

• Listening to the speech through an interpreter lessened its impact somewhat. 演讲辞通过翻译的嘴说出来，多少削弱了演讲的力量。
• The flight to suburbia lessened the number of middle-class families living within the city. 随着迁往郊外的风行，住在城内的中产家庭减少了。

5 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

6 racist   

n.种族主义者，种族主义分子

参考例句：

• a series of racist attacks 一连串的种族袭击行为
• His speech presented racist ideas under the guise of nationalism. 他的讲话以民族主义为幌子宣扬种族主义思想。

7 ecosystems   

n.生态系统( ecosystem的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There are highly sensitive and delicately balanced ecosystems in the forest. 森林里有高度敏感、灵敏平衡的各种生态系统。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Madagascar's ecosystems range from rainforest to semi-desert. 马达加斯加生态系统类型多样，从雨林到半荒漠等不一而足。 来自辞典例句

8 supervisor   

n.监督人，管理人，检查员，督学，主管，导师

参考例句：

• Between you and me I think that new supervisor is a twit.我们私下说，我认为新来的主管人是一个傻瓜。
• He said I was too flighty to be a good supervisor.他说我太轻浮不能成为一名好的管理员。

9 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

10 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

11 contractor   

n.订约人，承包人，收缩肌

参考例句：

• The Tokyo contractor was asked to kick $ 6000 back as commission.那个东京的承包商被要求退还6000美元作为佣金。
• The style of house the contractor builds depends partly on the lay of the land.承包商所建房屋的式样，有几分要看地势而定。

12 clans   

宗族( clan的名词复数 )； 氏族； 庞大的家族； 宗派

参考例句：

• There are many clans in European countries. 欧洲国家有很多党派。
• The women were the great power among the clans [gentes], as everywhere else. 妇女在克兰〈氏族〉里，乃至一般在任何地方，都有很大的势力。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源

13 ancestry   

n.祖先，家世

参考例句：

• Their ancestry settled the land in 1856.他们的祖辈1856年在这块土地上定居下来。
• He is an American of French ancestry.他是法国血统的美国人。

14 preservation   

n.保护，维护，保存，保留，保持

参考例句：

• The police are responsible for the preservation of law and order.警察负责维持法律与秩序。
• The picture is in an excellent state of preservation.这幅画保存得极为完好。

15 segregation   

n.隔离，种族隔离

参考例句：

• Many school boards found segregation a hot potato in the early 1960s.在60年代初，许多学校部门都觉得按水平分班是一个棘手的问题。
• They were tired to death of segregation and of being kicked around.他们十分厌恶种族隔离和总是被人踢来踢去。

16 parental   

adj.父母的；父的；母的

参考例句：

• He encourages parental involvement in the running of school.他鼓励学生家长参与学校的管理。
• Children always revolt against parental disciplines.孩子们总是反抗父母的管束。

17 differentiation   

n.区别，区分

参考例句：

• There can be no differentiation without contrast. 有比较才有差别。
• The operation that is the inverse of differentiation is called integration. 与微分相反的运算叫做积分。