Greetings, USTFA—and a belated happy New Year to you all!

Before the advent of the scientific method, myth and tradition were our only means to make sense of the world around us and to cope with its occasional terrors.  Fables, myths, and other stories are one of the ways we share our beliefs and values with those around us.  Some stories are meant to answer the big, existential questions; others are intended to impart moral teachings or simply to keep us from harm.  Fish are a part of this cultural fabric and feature prominently in many of the stories we tell.

Indigenous people native to the Haida Gwaii archipelago of Northern British Columbia tell the story of the salmon boy, an ungrateful youth who drowns in the river and is taken by the salmon, but returns as a fish the following year to teach his people lessons of respect, gratitude, and stewardship.  According to an Indian myth with similarities to the Biblical story of Noah’s ark, a small fish warns a man named Manu of a great flood and tells him to build a ship, ultimately guiding him to the safety of a mountaintop.  Carp are plentiful in the Yellow River in China, but most cannot pass over the waterfalls at Dragon Gate.  Legend has it that any fish that does leap over the falls is rewarded for its persistence by being transformed into a powerful dragon.  As a boy, Fionn mac Cumhaill, a prominent figure in Irish and Scottish mythology, becomes all-knowing by catching the Fintan, the salmon of knowledge, and inadvertently consuming the drippings as he cooked the fish for his master.  According to Maori legend, all the stars of the sky were birthed by a fish goddess, Ika Roa, who also stewards the changing of the seasons.  Other legendary fish are less benevolent, such as the Icelandic Lodsilungur, an inedible, hairy trout that overwhelms rivers and starves the wicked, or Namazu, a giant catfish whose thrashing is said to cause earthquakes in Japan.  The beauty and symbolism of these and other mythological fish tales have resonated across many generations and cultures.

For trout farmers, fish are also part of their personal story and their family’s folklore.  It’s a way to a make a living, but it’s also a way to make a life.  Those that were fortunate enough to attend last year’s Fall Conference heard from our ‘Generations’ panel about the intermingled difficulties and joys of running a family business.  Family dynamics and the trout farming lifestyle is something we plan to explore further when we convene again this fall in New York.  I hope you will join us and tell us your story.

Best ‘fishes’,

Jesse Trushenski