W. Jeffrey Bolster

The history of ocean resources: modeling cod biomass using historical records

Managing the remnants of the oceans resources is a critical issue worldwide, but evidence for what constitutes a healthy fish population remains controversial. Here, we use historical sources to understand ecosystem trends and establish a biomass estimate for a key marine species prior to the industrialization of fishing. Declining trajectories have been described for predatory fishes and complex coral reef systems globally, but few numerical estimates of past abundance exist. We combined historical research methods and population modeling to estimate the biomass of cod on Canadas Scotian Shelf in 1852. Mid 19th-century New England fishing logs offer geographically specific daily catch records, describing fleet activity on fishing grounds with negligible incentive to falsify records. Combined with ancillary fishery documents, these logs provide a solid, reliable basis for stock assessment. Based on these data we estimate a biomass for cod of 1.26 × 106 mt in 1852 – compared with less than 5 × 104 mt of ...

The Historical Abundance of Cod on the Nova Scotian Shelf

Only a generation ago marine scientists, fishery managers, and maritime historians shared the popular assumption that diminished fish stocks and damaged marine ecosystems were lamentable artifacts of the late twentieth century, of synthetic filaments, fish finding sonar, and electronic navigational systems. It seemed highly unlikely that historic sailing fleets could have depleted naturally abundant fish populations with simple hooks, hemp line, and handmade nets.

The Discovery of Mankind: Atlantic Encounters in the Age of Columbus (review)

clearly what the author has intended (whether we like it or not we still use the term “Middle East” in reference to a portion of Southwest Asia and North Africa), using the adjective “Arabic” (linguistic or ethnic) to describe Hermes as depicted in Arabic literature creates additional problems. For instance, why should we not use “Hermes in Arabic literary tradition”? What are we going to name Hermes in Malay, Persian, and Turkish languages? The bigger issue however relates to the aforementioned historiographical tradition. By demanding an adjective to describe Hermes, this tradition makes sure that the “real and authentic” Hermes with a capital H is clearly separated from its “imitations” in other cultures, which it truncates and parochializes by adjectives such as “Arabic” or “Islamic,” as if European representations of Hermes were universal. We need to insist on repeating this point because it creeps into our consciousness from unexpected directions. My final point has to do with the role Hermes played in the medieval “Islamic world.” Van Bladel traces the origins of Hermes as represented in Arabic literature but does not make much out of him as an “Arabic speaking” persona. Why, in the first place, was Hermes reincarnated, and why in this way? What did Hermes mean to medieval Islamic societies? How did he function in the production, appropriation, and dissemination of knowledge across societies and classes? While the author cannot be blamed for focusing on the literary origins of Hermes as a primary question of research, in the future we would benefit greatly from a discussion of Hermes as a functioning figure in Abbasid society to map out social and cross-cultural relations and connections, and dispel the myth of origins. Having said that, these final remarks in no way detract from the quality of the work van Bladel has accomplished. The author has done a great service to the profession by clearing the field for himself and for other scholars so that they can build on a solid groundwork. hayrettin yücesoy Saint Louis University