Environmental History Resources

The fishings of the Burgh of Stirling and its Neighbours, 1700-1900

The fish resources in Scottish rivers, especially salmon and trout, have been extensively exploited over the past three centuries, but the magnitude of landings and fishing effort as well as wider environmental concerns has been largely ignored by historians. At present a pilot project is underway that looks at the river fisheries of the Burgh of Stirling during the modern period. Despite the socio-economic importance of river fishing to the economy of Stirling, there has never been an attempt to recover systematically and interpret archival material related to river fishing in this area.

This project focuses on contemporary accounts of fluctuating fish resources during the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries and historical management strategies in pursuit of sustainable fishing, in the context of socio-economic but also environmental changes affecting eastern Scotland at this time. This will enable us to develop a better understanding of wider trends in the evolving use of the River Forth and possible impacts thereof on fish populations in its catchment area. The main objective of the study is to evaluate the usefulness of archival collections in Stirling, Edinburgh and other repositories for reconstructing the ecological and economic impacts of fishing on, respectively, the fish populations and the regional economy. By combining the long term record of fish catches and the ecological as well as socio-economic framework the proposed study will make it possible to link developments in land use, economic activity and technological development to fluctuations in the fish population.

This project is supported by the British Academy and the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland.

For more information about this research project contact Jan Oosthoek.