A pre-Columbian fisheries baseline from the Caribbean

A pre-Columbian (ca. AD 500–1500) fishery baseline is established for Anguilla, British West Indies from analyses of the remains of captured fishes from five archaeological sites. The zooarchaeological fishery baseline shows pre-Columbian communities captured diverse fishes, many of which are vulnerable to overexploitation. Composition of the captured fish community varies by site underscoring the potential importance of including samples from sites located adjacent to different marine habitats. Analyses of abundance–biomass relationships, community trophic structure, fish size and taxonomic composition indicate the Anguillian pre-Columbian fishery and coral reef ecosystem was healthy and sustainable. By providing a thorough baseline of Amerindian use of fishes on Anguilla, we provide a foundation that aids researchers asking questions about long-term change in Caribbean coral reef fisheries.     

Proceedings of the royal Scottish geographical society

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Scotland Picturesque and Traditional. By Geo. Eyre‐Todd. Stirling : Eneas Mackay, 1931. Price 5s.

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Skara Brae : A Pictish Village in Orkney. By V. Gordon Childe, B.Litt., Professor of Prehistoric Archaeology in Edinburgh University, author of The Most Ancient East, The Aryans, The Dawn of European Civilisation, etc. With chapters by Professor T. H. Bryce, F.R.S., and Professor D. M. S. Watson, F.R.S. London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner and Co. Ltd., 1931. Price 31s. 6d.

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Fishing settlements in the Pskov region in the 16th century (according to archaeological data and written sources)

Numerous written sources report that an extensive system of special fishing villages called isads existed in the Pskov region in the 16th century. These villages were inhabited by professional fishermen and their fishing grounds were strictly delineated. Due to the analysis of scribes books, cartographic material analysis and exploratory excavations in the area, 314 sites were exposed. More than 60% of the fishing sites mentioned in the scribes books were mapped and the location of 20% more was determined by indirect information. Some of the isads which were located are partially studied by prompt or archaeological excavations. During the excavations of beach debris, some fishing gear dated to the late Medieval–Modern time periods were found. The combination of information obtained from the study of lake coastline changes, hydrological regime of waterways and water bodies of the Pskov region, and data on the economy and economics of the whole area under study give impetus to research into a number of problems related to natural environmental characteristics of the Pskov region for the period of study.     

A stable isotope method for identifying transatlantic origin of pig (Sus scrofa) remains at French and English fishing stations in Newfoundland

From the 16th century onward, various European nations shared fishing spaces off the coast of Newfoundland in an effort to provide salt-fish products to supplement increasing European demand. Faunal remains excavated at seasonal and permanent Newfoundland fishing stations indicate that pigs were the primary mammal species consumed by cod fishermen. It is not clear whether these pig remains derive from salt pork and/or live pigs imported from Europe or, rather, from pigs bred and raised in Newfoundland. Based on the notion that Newfoundland-raised pigs would have had greater access to marine-derived foods from nearby fisheries compared to their European-raised counterparts, we analyzed stable carbon and nitrogen isotope values from 28 pigs and 117 other faunal specimens from Dos de Cheval (EfAx-09) and Ferryland (CgAf-02) in order to identify individuals with marine or terrestrial isotope dietary signatures. Results indicating two distinct groups of pigs with mean δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values differing by ∼6‰ and ∼9‰, respectively, suggest differing pig-product origins at each site. This method for identifying the transatlantic origin of pig remains has potential to shed light on patterns in the provisioning of the early European transatlantic fishing industry and inter-community relations. It may also allow for the development of more sophisticated body part representation models for zooarchaeological reconstruction of barreled salt pork use.     

Special Interest Capture of Regulatory Agencies: A Ten‐Year Analysis of Voting Behavior on Regional Fishery Management Councils

This article tests capture theory by analyzing voting behavior on U.S. Regional Fishery Management Councils. Some seats on the councils are reserved for state and federal agency representatives; others, for political appointees. The political appointees primarily represent special interests (specifically, commercial and recreational fishing interests); a smaller number of appointees represent public interests. We use logistic regression to model the vote of state and federal agency representatives on the councils as a function of the votes of commercial interests, recreational interests, and public interests. We find evidence that some state agencies are captured by special interests from their states, but not systematic evidence across all states. We find that state agency representatives voted with commercial interests from their own state in five of the sixteen states in our sample; with recreational interests in three states; and with both special interests in two states. These ten states support the capture hypothesis; the other six states do not. We find no evidence that federal agencies were captured on the councils. We conclude that the gubernatorial‐driven appointment process leads to capture at the state level by promoting voting blocs among state agency representatives and special interests from those states. Federal agency representatives, by contrast, are better able to maintain their distance from state‐level politics on the councils, and thereby enhance their ability to vote independently on fishery management measures.     

Mesolithic fishery in the Polish Lowland. Fish remains from the Site 7 at Krzyż Wielkopolski,Poland

Fish remains have been discovered at seven Mesolithic sites located mainly in central and northern Poland, an area that is known as the Lakeland of the Polish Lowland. Based mainly on the results of the identification of fish remains uncovered during the excavations at the Site 7 in Krzy? Wielkopolski (Western Poland), the conclusions were made on the locality and technique of fishery. The fish taxa represented show that the fishing showed that the fishing economy during the Mesolithic period was focused on nearby freshwater rivers and lakes. At that time, people fished primarily for Cyprinids, pike and perch. According to the archaeological finds, the basic fishing tools used by the Mesolithic communities were spears, harpoons and rods with hooks. The small fishes recovered were most probably caught by fishing traps or nets, but such artifact finds are very rare in the Polish Lowland. This paper summarises the current data on Mesolithic fishery in the Polish Lowland based mainly on the data from the Site 7 at Krzy? Wielkopolski, but also includes archaeological data collected from previous studies in the region.