The North Atlantic Fish Revolution (ca. AD 1500). (July 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Holm, Poul; Ludlow, Francis; Scherer, Cordula; Travis, Charles; Allaire, Bernard; Brito, Cristina; Hayes, Patrick W.; Matthews, J. Al; Rankin, Kieran J.; Breen, Richard J.; Legg, Robert; Lougheed, Kevin; Nicholls, John
• Is Part Of: Quaternary research. Volume 108(2022)
• Page Start: 92
• Page End: 106
• Publication Date: 2022-07
• Subjects: North Atlantic -- Fish Revolution -- Climate change -- Settlements -- Market integration -- Early modern history; Geology, Stratigraphic -- Quaternary -- Periodicals; Glacial epoch -- Periodicals; Stratigraphie -- Quaternaire -- Périodiques; Époque glaciaire -- Périodiques; Geology, Stratigraphic; Glacial epoch; Quaternary Geologic Period; Electronic journals; Periodicals; 551.79
• DOI: 10.1017/qua.2018.153
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0033-5894

Abstract

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.