The North Atlantic Fisheries, 1100-1976 - University of Hull

Catches and Manpower
in the Danish Fisheries,
c1200-1995
Poul Holm
Introduction
The history of Danish fisheries is little known, and text book
assumptions are rarely founded on research. 299 A prime objective of this
overview is to establish an analytical framework, involving the
quantitative assessment of variables such as catches and manpower, and
to a lesser extent demand and distribution. The paper does not treat
ecological parameters in any depth. Future research will require the
coordinated effort of historians and biologists, involving a critical
evalution of key source material. A secondary aim of the paper is to
relate the Danish evidence both to international developments in the
fishing industry and to general Danish social, economic and political
history. It is concluded that Danish medieval and early modern fisheries
were of crucial importance to the national economy and that Danish
historians have grossly underestimated the significance of this sector.
The eighteenth century witnessed a trough in the fisheries, but in the
period 1880-1950 Danish fisheries made an important contribution to
economic growth and technological innovation.
THE MEDIEVAL AND RENAISSANCE FISHERIES, 1200-1590
The Herring Fisheries in the Sound and the Baltic
The Sound fisheries were of great importance from the thirteenth to the
fifteenth century. There were numerous fishing booths by the beach
already in the twelfth century according to Saxo, 300 and archaeological
299 This essay does not delve into the historiography of the subject as the substance of
most previous research is so thin. On Danish historiography, see my review of Danish
maritime history to be published in Research in Maritime History 9 (1995).
300 Saxo Grammaticus, Gesta Danorum (c1200), chapter 15.
177