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

has an emphasis on the life and work of the fishermen and their
families. 25
On British trawl fisheries off Iceland there are two books by J. Th.
Thór, the first covering the period from the beginning of steam trawling
in Icelandic waters until 1916, 26 and the second discussing the subject
from 1919 to 1976. 27 Both works cover the history of British trawling off
Iceland and the disputes arising over fishing rights.
In addition two articles have been written on the
Anglo-Iceland/Danish fisheries dispute of 1896-97, by G.Á.
Gunnlaugsson 28 and J. Th. Thór. 29
V. Local Histories and Biographies
In recent years local history has been flourishing in Iceland. Most local
historical subjects have been started and financed by communities or
local historical societies. The majority of published works must be
categorized as local history as they deal with the development of towns
and villages. Most Icelandic towns are, however, relatively young and,
consequently, most local history publications cover only the nineteenth
and twentieth centuries. As most Icelandic towns must be regarded as
coastal or fishing communities, fishing and fish processing is inevitably
a considerable part of their history and in most cases the cornerstone of
the local economy. Consequently, much has been written on fishing
history on a local basis, although the authors’ emphasis on the economic
history of their ‘subjects’ differs considerably.
Four local histories published during the last fifty years cover the
fishing history of the period prior to 1800 and all pay a good deal of
attention to the ethnology of the fisheries as well as to their effect on
habitation. The oldest of these works is S. Johnsen’s two volume work
on the history of the Westman Islands, 30 which has a long chapter on the
25 E. Pálmadóttir, Fransí, biskví.
26 J. Th. Thór, British Trawlers in Icelandic Waters. An Icelandic edition of this book
was published in 1982, entitled Breskir togarar og Íslandsmið 1889-1916.
27 J. Th. Thór, British Trawlers and Iceland, 1919-1976.
28 G. Á. Gunnlaugsson, ‘Fiskveiðideila Íslendinga og Breta 1896 og 1897’. Saga XVIII
(English summary).
29 J. Th. Thór, ‘Íslandsför æfingadeildar breska flotans sumarið 1896.’
30 S. Johnsen, Saga Vestmannaeyja I-II.
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