Paper short abstract:

The study focuses on historical relationships between catch rates and environmental factors in Ireland and England, with economic data used to assess socioeconomic pressures on marine life extraction. Fish consumption trends and adaptation strategies amid changing conditions are also explored.

Paper long abstract:

Marine transitions such as the medieval ‘fish event horizon’ or the 16th century ‘fish revolution’ were complex phenomena shaped by a complex interplay of environmental, social, economic and cultural factors all of which converged to reshape the relationship between humans and the sea. Changes in climate had significant impacts on fish populations, with changes in ocean currents, temperature and nutrients all influencing marine ecosystem productivity and biodiversity, while heavy exploitation of fish led to overfishing in many regions. These factors combined with urbanisation, political centralisation, shifting dietary practices, development of global trade networks and exploration created a perfect storm leading to a surge in demand for sea fish and it had profound economic, cultural and ecological implications. We present an initial case study of the historical relationship between catch rates and environmental drivers such as severe changes in temperature or precipitations (e.g., floods/storms, droughts) in Ireland and England to see when and where these factors had meaningful influence. At the same time, we use economic data such as fish prices that both reflect and influence demand to assess socioeconomic and political pressures on historic extractions of marine life such as herring and salmon, and their interactions with variations in natural abundance. We also use economic data to look at spatial and temporal patterns in fish consumptions to explore how human societies adapted to changing conditions in the past, which in turn can inform strategies for building and making informed decisions about ocean futures.