From sailing to steam trawling: the evolution of bottom trawl effort in the North Sea
Adriaan D. Rijnsdorp, Floris P. Bennema, F.A. Veenstra, Ole Ritzau Eigaard, Jørn Thomassen, Ciarán McLaverty
This paper reconstructs historical bottom trawl fishing effort in the North Sea from the 1820s to 1910s, showing significant increases in fleet size, trawling grounds, and swept area over time.
bioRxiv · Aug 25, 2026 · PreprintEcology