La Grande Pêche: Drivers of change in the saltfish fisheries on Grand Bank through four centuries

Abstract

Examples of large-scale drivers of the development and decline of fisheries are illustrated through a review of the history of fishing for Atlantic cod on Grand Bank during the era of salting at sea, from the mid-16th Century to the 1970s. A broad variety of external factors, including geopolitics, technology and consumer preferences, are shown to have had major effects, not only on the human dimensions of the fisheries but also on their resources. It is suggested that fisheries cannot be effectively managed until the influence of such drivers is understood. That requires development of a holistic science of fishery systems, spanning from ecosystems to seafood consumers while encompassing the linkages between.