This book takes a broad sweep of the history of fisheries and their management, beginning with ancient Sumer and Egypt. The first substantial part is devoted to the development of fisheries. The advances in fishing technology after the Industrial Revolution brought the fisheries up to the limits set by nature. We are accustomed to thinking that mechanization of fishing boats was responsible for this, but advances in transportation and preservation (chilling, freezing) may have played as large a role. Fish is a very perishable commodity, and without opening up distant markets, better fishing technology would have been of much less consequence.
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