From the Barents Sea to the Japanese Dinner Plate: The Agency and Adventures of the Snow Crab

• Main Author: Engen, Elisabeth Sjo
• Format: Master Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: 2018
• Subjects: Actor-Network Theory; agency; export-import; Japan; Snow crab; invasive species; food culture; nature-culture; aquaculture; native species; Norway; nationalism; international trade; Barents Sea
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10852/65749; http://urn.nb.no/URN:NBN:no-68028

In this thesis we will follow the snow crab on his adventures across the globe. It is a thesis with significant weight placed on discussions regarding the agency and interpretations of the snow crab’s role in different areas, cultures, situations and industries. Mainly we will explore his travel to and from the Barents Sea, Norway and Japan. I have conducted qualitative interviews with people from the snow crab industry, and gathered relevant literature and preexisting quantitative surveys to follow the snow crab as closely as possible. I will be using the theoretical framework of Actor-Network Theory to analyze my findings. In addition to revealing the path of the snow crab in and of itself, this thesis also seeks to explore the cultures he encounters, such as Japan’s food culture and its traditions. In sum we will look at the how the tiny snow crab larvae, mysteriously, travels to the Barents Sea. Where, upon arrival, he first becomes an anomaly, then an invasive alien. He may cause sickness and death among the fishermen and factory workers he meets, or he might make them rich. He will go on to become a valuable commodity, yet become the main focus of an international dispute between Norway and the European Union. He will open the doors for us to notice disparities between him and other species. He will travel the world in ships, and arrive in a country were he is celebrated, yet deemed inferior to his Japanese cousins. But he will still be so great that imposters will make him a victim of identity theft. He will go on dates and become a memorable part of someone’s proposal, and maybe even their wedding. Expect all this and more from the adventures and agency of the snow crab.