Atlantic Herring in Estonia: In the Transverse Waves of International Economy and National Ideology

Abstract

This article examines the background of and reasons for a sudden decrease in the Estonian import of Atlantic herring during the Great Depression in 1932. The economic and ideological factors that influenced the process are discussed, including protectionist trade policy measures, customs regulations and nontariff trade measures. We argue that the attempt to replace herring imports by establishing a national herring fishing fleet was grounded in ideological as well as in nutritional arguments. Such protectionist measures were met with confrontation by Estonian foreign trade partners. The case study highlights a complicated interplay between oceanic resource exploitation politics and national ideologies, locating it in the context of regional environmental historical research.