Access to food sources has been a key factor in development throughout most of human history, with relative abundance of food being a relatively recent achievement. Over the centuries, individual species of marine animals have often been both a source of well-being and a reason for expansion of various nations into remote regions of the world.
Today we will discuss herring.
Herring is found in large quantities in the North Sea and is a schooling fish, so it is quite easy to catch. However, until the end of the 14th century, it often wasn’t targeted by fishermen: it was considered a fish for the poor, because after being caught, herring tasted bitter.
At the end of the 14th century, a method was developed in the Netherlands to solve this problem. First, they discovered that the gills were bitter, and they began to remove them during processing. Secondly, they devised how to salt herring directly on the ship. Thanks to these innovations, the Dutch gained access to cheap fish, which led to the flourishing of the Dutch economy, particularly the herring fishery.
The Dutch Empire: light green colour depicts the Dutch East India Company, in dark green is the Dutch West India Company. Orange dots mark the Empire’s trading posts. Source: Wikimedia Commons, red4tribe, CC BY-SA 3.0
The profitable fishery spurred shipbuilding, which led to the development of export-import relations between the Netherlands and other countries.1 This enabled the small country to join the handful of colonial powers that were making geographical discoveries and founding their colonies in Asia, Africa and South America. That’s how herring transformed the small, provincial Netherlands into one of the world’s leading powers of the 17th–18th centuries.
In remote Iceland, herring was considered inedible until the early 20th century, although there were colossal reserves of this fish around the island.
Instead of herring, Icelandic fishermen caught Greenland sharks in large numbers—truly amazing animals!2 The sharks were caught for their liver, as shark meat itself is toxic. The meat contains urea and ammonia because sharks lack a urinary system, causing toxins to accumulate.
Greenland shark—Somniosus microcephalus. Source: Wikimedia Commons, Hemming1952, CC BY-SA 4.0
Icelanders developed a method to make shark meat edible,3 but they never devised a simpler method for herring. Only in 1903 did Norwegian fishing vessels, which began herring fishing in Icelandic waters, demonstrate the potential to local residents, and a herring boom began in Iceland. The profitable industry became a key factor in the emancipation of women (who earned money cleaning fish), the growth of national consciousness and the fight for Iceland’s independence from Denmark.4 Within 50 years, herring accounted for 40 per cent of Iceland’s total exports and had become a national dish.
AUTHORAlexander Osadchiev
Ocean Around Us
Leading Researcher, Shirshov Institute of Oceanology
Head of Arctic Oceanography Laboratory, Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology
Footnotes
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Shipbuilding relied on imported materials and herring exports. Economic recovery quickly led to the development of banking and insurance. There was also a need for legal regulation of the herring fishing process to prevent competitors from exploiting the new technology and the Dutch fishing fleet. Thanks to these factors, Amsterdam became one of Europe’s largest financial centres. ↩
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Polar sharks live in the cold waters of the North Atlantic and the adjacent waters of the Arctic Ocean. For reasons still unknown, they age very slowly, with some individuals living 300–400 years! They grow continuously, albeit slowly, by about 1 centimetre per year. The largest caught specimens measured 6–7 metres in length and weighed 1–1.5 tonnes. Their study may yield insights into human longevity. ↩
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To make shark meat edible, it is first buried for months, then dried and cured. The result, hákarl, is a traditional Icelandic Christmas dish. Though pungent, it is safe to eat and costs several hundred euros per kilogramme. ↩
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Iceland’s independence referendum from Denmark occurred in 1944, while Denmark was occupied by German troops and Iceland by American forces. At the time, Iceland’s population was roughly 120,000, with 40,000 foreign troops stationed there. ↩