Introduction

For centuries, the Dutch North Sea herring fisheries were the largest in Europe and the envy of other nations. This study applies economic resource theory and the results of anthropological case studies in order to discuss institutional, technological and cultural information sharing in a historical context.

How did the Dutch herring fishers manage to find the fish at sea? How and to what extent did they cooperate with each other, and which environmental and institutional incentives did they have for cooperation? The political body, Het College van de Grote Visserij, governed the regulations of the Dutch herring fisheries for almost 300 years, emerging gradually in the latter half of the 16th century until it was finally dissolved in 1857.

This study establishes that the Dutch North Sea herring fisheries were managed and organised in a manner that favoured large-scale cooperation and the sharing of knowledge between fishers. It analyses the regulations imposed by the College van de Grote Visserij aimed at controlling how the fishers interacted at sea. Registers of herring landings in the Netherlands and diaries and logbooks kept aboard fishing vessels are other important sources in this study. Together, they provide the documentation needed for an as sessment of formal and informal systems for cooperation and communication within the Dutch North Sea herring fisheries.

The analysis demonstrates that the fishers communicated intensively, but the question remains to what extent valuable information on the fishing grounds was shared freely. Did certain groups of Dutch fishers interact more closely with one other, and if so, what determined the limits to their information sharing?

Theories on fishers’ behaviour

The behaviour and interaction within groups of fishers at sea is an important aspect in any large-scale fishing operation. From the point of view of fisheries management, it is desirable to understand how the different strategies adopted by a group of fishers influence the fishing effort and thus the fishing pressure on a given limited natural resource. In assessing the economic performance of a fishing fleet, it is also of interest to know what type of behaviour is adopted by the individual fishers as well as the group as a whole.