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ICES Journal of Marine Science: Journal du Conseil 2005 62(7):1426-1435; doi:10.1016/j.icesjms.2005.02.011
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© 2005 International Council for the Exploration of the Sea

The use of historical catch data to trace the influence of climate on fish populations: examples from the White and Barents Sea fisheries in the 17th and 18th centuries

Dmitry L. Lajusa,*, Julia A. Lajusb, Zoya V. Dmitrievac, Alexei V. Kraikovskib and Daniel A. Alexandrovb

a St. Petersburg State University, Department of Ichthyology and Hydrobiology 16 Linia V.O., 29, 199178 St. Petersburg, Russian Federation
b Centre for Environmental and Technological History, European University at St. Petersburg Gagarinskaya Str. 3, 191187 St. Petersburg, Russian Federation
c St. Petersburg Institute for History, Russian Academy of Sciences Petrozavodskaia Str. 7, St. Petersburg, 197110, Russian Federation

*Correspondence to D. L. Lajus: tel: +7 812 3213279; fax: +7 812 3280852. e-mail: dlajus{at}yahoo.com.

We analysed catch records of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), cod (Gadus morhua), and halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus and Reinhardtius hippoglossoides) from the 17th and 18th centuries from several locations of the Barents and White Seas areas. Historical records, found in Russian archives, allow analysis of long-term series of catches, and sometimes of the average weight of the fish. In total, we obtained data on catches of salmon for 51 years (for the period from 1615 to 1772) and of cod and halibut for 33 years (for the period from 1710 to 1793). These data are comparable with respect to fishing effort within the series. The data on Atlantic salmon are also comparable with statistical data for the period 1875–1915. We found notable fluctuations in catches and sometimes in the average weight of salmon. There was also fluctuation in catches of cod and halibut. Both observational comparison of catch series and temperature data and formal statistical analysis showed that catches tended to decrease during relatively colder periods.

Keywords: Atlantic salmon, Barents Sea, climate change, cod, fisheries, halibut, history, White Sea

Received 1 July 2004; accepted 22 February 2005.


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