The North Atlantic Fish Revolution, c. AD 1500
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2019Author:
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Poul Holm; Francis Ludlow Cordula Scherer Charles Travis Bernard Allaire Cristina Brito Patrick W. Hayes Al Matthews Kieran J. Rankin Richard J. Breen Robert Legg Kevin Lougheed John Nicholls, The North Atlantic Fish Revolution, c. AD 1500, Quaternary Research, 2019, 1-15Download Item:
Abstract:
We propose the concept of the “Fish Revolution” to demarcate the dramatic increase in North Atlantic fisheries after AD 1500, which led to a 15-fold increase of cod (Gadus morhua) catch volumes and likely a tripling of fish protein to the European market. We consider three key questions: (1) What were the environmental parameters of the Fish Revolution? (2) What were the globalising effects of the Fish Revolution? (3) What were the consequences of the Fish Revolution for fishing communities? While these questions would have been considered unknowable a decade or two ago, methodological developments in marine environmental history and historical ecology have moved information about both supply and demand into the realm of the discernible. Although much research remains to be done, we conclude that this was a major event in the history of resource extraction from the sea, mediated by forces of climate change and globalisation, and is likely to provide a fruitful agenda for future multidisciplinary research.
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https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/quaternary-research/article/north-atlantic-fish-revolution-ca-ad-1500/477C3FDE9C0FBB8F09828DCF71DDDC46http://hdl.handle.net/2262/91397
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European Research Council (ERC)
669461
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http://people.tcd.ie/holmphttp://people.tcd.ie/rlegg
http://people.tcd.ie/krankin
http://people.tcd.ie/nichollj
http://people.tcd.ie/fludlow
http://people.tcd.ie/breenri
http://people.tcd.ie/cscherer
http://people.tcd.ie/ctravis
http://people.tcd.ie/hayesp6
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PUBLISHEDWe propose the concept of the ?Fish Revolution? to demarcate the dramatic increase in North Atlantic fisheries after AD 1500, which led to a 15-fold increase of cod (Gadus morhua) catch volumes and likely a tripling of fish protein to the European market. We consider three key questions: (1) What were the environmental parameters of the Fish Revolution? (2) What were the globalising effects of the Fish Revolution? (3) What were the consequences of the Fish Revolution for fishing communities? While these questions would have been considered unknowable a decade or two ago, methodological developments in marine environmental history and historical ecology have moved information about both supply and demand into the realm of the discernible. Although much research remains to be done, we conclude that this was a major event in the history of resource extraction from the sea, mediated by forces of climate change and globalisation, and is likely to provide a fruitful agenda for future multidisciplinary research.
Author: Holm, Poul; Ludlow, Francis; Scherer, Cordula; Travis, Charles; HAYES, PATRICK; Rankin, Kieran; Breen, Richard; Legg, Robert; Nicholls, John
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Journal ArticleURI:
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/quaternary-research/article/north-atlantic-fish-revolution-ca-ad-1500/477C3FDE9C0FBB8F09828DCF71DDDC46http://hdl.handle.net/2262/91397
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Quaternary ResearchAvailability:
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North Atlantic, Fish revolution, Climate change, Settlements, Market integration, Early modern historySubject (TCD):
Smart & Sustainable Planet , Environmental Humanities , environmental humanitiesDOI:
https://doi.org/10.1017/qua.2018.153Licences: