Ethical dimension of the fishing poaching problem (based on the material of fishermen’s language games in the Murmansk oblast)

The article examines the ethical dimension of the fishing poaching problem. Methodologically, the authors rely on L. Wittgenstein's concept of language games. The empirical basis of the article is in-depth and expert interviews gathered among fishermen, representatives of scientific and fisheries conservation organizations of the Murmansk Oblast, as well as thematic conversations without audio recording. In certain instances, parallels are drawn with the stories set apart from the empirical material of previous field investigations in regards to fishing poaching in Kamchatka Krai. The ethical legitimation associated with the justification of informal fishing practices is correlated in fishermen's speech with the problem of seeking justice. Based on the analysis of empirical material, the article identifies four thematic aspects of such language games. In the first instance, a significant distance between regulations and the attitude of fishermen is revealed, when such legislation is considered by fishermen in the context of seeking justice. Secondly, the current state of affairs is perceived as inequitable or not wholly true. The fishermen interviewed want to find justice against the provisions of the locals, resulting in necessity to expand the scope and permit the other ways of catching. Third, some fishermen do not associate the status of poaching with fishing, albeit in violation of regulatory fishing regulations, but solely with the monetization of fishing activities. In such a language game, one who does not sell fish does not consider himself or anyone else a poacher, regardless of compliance or violation of regulations. Fourth, a number of interviews explicitly address the problem of establishing justice in the context of contrasting the very figure of the fisherman himself, whose actions are strictly limited, with the unlimited possibilities of the state and/or capital. By virtue thereof, in their opinion, poaching does not seem to be something wrong, and even acquires the features of a peculiar restoration of justice.