Change in Atlantic cod migrations and adaptability of early land-based fishers to severe climate variation in the North Atlantic

• Published in: Quaternary Research
• Main Authors: Edvardsson, Ragnar, Patterson, William P., Bárðarson, Hlynur, Timsic, Sandra, Ólafsdóttir, Guðbjörg Ásta
• Other Authors: Rannsóknasetur á Vestfjörðum (HÍ), Research Centre in the West Fjords (UI), Háskóli Íslands, University of Iceland
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2019
• Subjects: Atlantic cod; Fish migrations; Historical fishing; Subarctic seas; Little Ice Age; Ecological baseline; Cultural adaptation; Þorskur; Far dýra; Sjávarvistfræði; Veðurfarsbreytingar; Fiskveiðar; Ari; Barrett; atlantic cod; Iceland; North Atlantic; Subarctic
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11815/2000; https://doi.org/10.1017/qua.2018.147

Publisher's version (útgefin grein) We use biochemical, biological, archaeological, and historical analysis to examine relationships between Atlantic cod migration, sea temperature, and shifts in the distribution and occupancy of historical fishing sites in Iceland during the last millennium. Results support the hypothesis that the cooling climate of the North Atlantic during the period commonly referred to as the Little Ice Age coincided with changes in Atlantic cod migration patterns. Historical analysis shows a concomitant increase in reports of worsening Atlantic cod fishing and a severe decrease in domestic fishing, particularly in north Iceland. We conclude that Atlantic cod fisheries in Iceland originally thrived because of the proximity to cod migration routes. However, despite the mobility of local fishers, fluctuations in fish migrations, coupled with a harsher climate and increased competition for fishing grounds, resulted in a stagnation that lasted until the eventual modernization of the fishery in the mid-nineteenth century. We would like to acknowledge Tom McGovern for his conceptualinput in developing this work and Ben Fitzhugh, David Orton,and James Barrett for useful comments on this article. We thank Lei-fur Þór Þorvaldsson, GylfiBjörn Helgason, Zuhaitz Akizu, MarionDurand, Kjartan Ari Theoódórsson, Benedikt Kári Theódórsson,and Emma Lilja Ragnarsdóttir forfield assistance and Einar PéturJónsson for his work on the otolith shape assignment. Work funded by Icelandic center for research (RANNÍS) 152226 Peer reviewed