Conference Report: Twelfth Conference of the North Atlantic Fisheries History Association, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia, 19–22 August 2009

Abstract

History has different meanings to the various groups studying North Atlantic fisheries. For natural and social scientists, ‘history’ may extend back no more than a few years. In the humanities, chronologies may stretch over centuries. There is an increasing recognition that history matters in understanding fisheries, as represented by the historical component to the Census of Marine Life, and that there are benefits to multidisciplinary approaches that incorporate an historical dimension. The North Atlantic Fisheries History Association (NAFHA) has advanced new approaches to the history of fisheries, and promoted the scholastic value of this subject. NAFHA’s twelfth conference, the second held in North America, drew speakers considering different countries, historical periods, and perspectives, but nonetheless created the sense of a shared research agenda. The conference adopted the theme of fisheries management. Twenty-one papers offered a series of case studies that reflected the spread of issues arising from the exploitation of marine animal populations. In this respect, the conference was sympathetic to modern ap- proaches to maritime history, in considering how relationships with the sea pervade numerous spheres, such as occupation and community, the construction of knowledge, and the manifestation of conflict.