Ghosts of the Techno-Fix Ocean? A Short History of Periphylla periphylla in the Norwegian Fjords

Bibliographic Data

ID20248948
AuthorsTirza Meyer (0000-0002-3846-7779, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, corresponding author)
Year2024
Volume13
Issue2
Pages44
Publication date2024-03-04
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueHumanities (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2076-0787 • E-ISSN: 2076-0787
PublisherMDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT)
DOI10.3390/h13020044
OpenAlexW4392379732
LanguageEN
References cited29

In 1980, reports of deep-sea jellyfish blooms in Norwegian fjords led researchers to investigate the problem. The helmet jellyfish, Periphylla periphylla, has since migrated far north into Arctic waters. This paper examines what happened when the jellyfish blooms were noticed in 1980 from a historical and ethnographic perspective. It traces four research projects and business ideas that proposed solutions to the jellyfish problem and asks how they are representative of the ways in which humans meet the challenges of anthropogenic climate change. The paper concludes that the jellyfish problem was met with a “techno-fix” attitude that sought to “turn a problem into a resource”, which eventually leads to what Julia Livingston has termed “self-devouring growth”. In a final outlook, the article asks how we can engage with questions of conservation from a humanities perspective and concludes that the jellyfish story can help us to ask questions about “conservation for whom”

Fjord · Norwegian · Coastal and Marine Management · History · Marine and coastal plant biology · Marine Ecology and Invasive Species · Philosophy · Geology · Oceanography