Working Group on the History of Fish and Fisheries (WGHIST; outputs from 2023 meeting)

The ICES Working Group on History of Fish and Fisheries (WGHIST) explores how historical data (e.g., from prehistory to the last few decades) from a range of sources can help understand past human practices, how social-ecological systems have changed over time and the pressures upon them. WGHISTs four Terms of Reference consider: i) data collection and standardisation, ii) integration of different sources to obtain useful information about past ecosystem or fisheries dynamics, iii) long-term changes in social-ecological systems, and iv) utilisation of historical information for understanding social-ecological outcomes of management. In this iteration WGHIST has been encouraging discussion around inter-disciplinary working (from ecology, history, historical ecology, anthropology, archaeology, social science, palaeontology) at our annual meetings, by engaging with teams from large multidisciplinary projects, organising conference workshops and theme sessions, and completing analyses. This included considering the challenges of using mixed sources and approaches, how best to complete interdisciplinary work and how to effectively communicate across disciplinary divides. We are exploring how different disciplines interact, what language they use, what data they analyse and how. This will help integrate data and results across disparate disciplines. A huge effort standardising WGHISTs metadata has begun, including preparing guidance to help make historical data accessible to a wider community. Since 2021 WGHIST and its members have produced five peer-reviewed publications (with another two in review), two articles in newsletters, and three workshop reports. Outputs considered the potential contributions historical data can make to contemporary science and management. They included 120-year analysis of how major policy changes influenced patterns of UK seafood production, trade, and consumption; a 110-year reconstruction of Mediterranean swordfish populations; and, how seafloor functioning changed during global warming in deep time. We consider the contributions made by the late Professor Sidney Holt, an advocate for historical data, to four ongoing challenges in marine science and his successes engaging with stakeholders as well as scientists. Members showcased the historical databases they have built for European oysters can be used to inform restoration targets. Other resources highlighted included current research projects, relevant networks, new approaches, historical datasets and archives.