Norfish: Scottish Herring Fishery 1466-1790

NorFish is a European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Grant led by Prof Poul Holm in Trinity College Dublin, focuses on the premise that a 16th century shift in marine fish pricing and supply in conjunction with the Little Ice Age and lowering of sea temperatures not only rise to the North Atlantic Fish Revolution but also forms one of the first documented examples of the disrupting effects of globalisation and climate change. The project examines the role of the Fish Revolution for a range of inter-related aspects of North Atlantic history, with NorFish’s interdisciplinary team drawing on archaeology, history, cartography, geography, and ecology to develop interpretative frameworks that synthesise a broad spectrum of source data to assess the overall objective of the project. NorFish’s interdisciplinary team draws on archaeology, history, cartography, geography, and ecology to assess the objectives of the project. The Scottish Herring Fishery was based largely in the North Sea along the Scottish coastline but included elements from the Atlantic waters on the west coast of Scotland as well. Some fishing may have occurred in the northern parts of the Irish Sea as well. While the fishery was on a comparatively small scale when compared with the industrial giants of the Flemish and Dutch fisheries, it was nevertheless a large feature of the Scottish fishing effort and accounted for important exports as well as domestic provision of nutrition. Salmon and cod fishing were also important aspects of the overall fishing effort but herring was arguably the most important fish export