Wright, Lori

English

University of New Hampshire

University of New Hampshire
University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository
Media Relations Administrative Offices
10-8-2012
UNH Professor Pens Book on History of Fishing
the Atlantic
Lori Wright
UNH Media Relations
Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.unh.edu/news
This News Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Administrative Offices at University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. It has
been accepted for inclusion in Media Relations by an authorized administrator of University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. For more
information, please contact nicole.hentz@unh.edu.
Recommended Citation
Wright, Lori, "UNH Professor Pens Book on History of Fishing the Atlantic" (2012). UNH Today. 4070.
https://scholars.unh.edu/news/4070
W. Jeffrey Bolster, an associate professor of 
history at the University of New Hampshire 
and professional seafarer, has written the 
new book, “The Mortal Sea: Fishing the 
Atlantic in the Age of Sail". Credit: UNH 
Photographic Services.
October 8, 2012 
UNH Professor Pens Book on History of Fishing the Atlantic
Since the Viking ascendancy in the Middle Ages, the 
Atlantic has shaped the lives of people who depended 
upon it for survival. And just as surely, people have 
shaped the Atlantic. In his innovative account of this 
interdependency,W. Jeffrey Bolster, a historian at the 
University of New Hampshire, takes us through a 
millennium­long environmental history of our impact on 
one of the largest ecosystems in the world.
The UNH associate professor’s new book, “The Mortal 
Sea: Fishing the Atlantic in the Age of Sail,” is available 
today, Oct. 8, 2012 (The Belknap Press of Harvard 
University Press).
While overfishing is often thought of as a contemporary 
problem, Bolster reveals that humans were 
transforming the sea long before factory trawlers 
turned fishing from a handliner’s art into an industrial 
enterprise. The western Atlantic’s legendary fishing 
banks, stretching from Cape Cod to Newfoundland, have 
attracted fishermen for more than 500 years. 
Bolster follows the effects of this siren’s song from its 
medieval European origins to the advent of 
industrialized fishing in American waters at the 
beginning of the 20th century.
“Beginning the story well before industrialization emphasizes the longevity of people’s short­sighted 
impact on the ocean, and emphasizes, as well, how modern technology was not necessary to affect 
the balance of nature,” Bolster says.
“With its deep roots, this tale is probably the longest history possible of Euro­Americans’ interaction 
with any aspect of their natural environment, a story of unrealistic hopes, frequent articulated 
concerns, destruction, and denial,” he says. 
Blending marine biology, ecological 
insight, and a remarkable cast of 
characters, from notable explorers to 
scientists to an army of unknown 
Media Relations
Page 1 of 2UNH News: UNH Professor Pens Book on History of Fishing the Atlantic
2/6/2018http://www.unh.edu/delete/news/releases/2012/oct/lw08bolster.cfm.html
W. Jeffrey Bolster, an associate professor of history at the 
University of New Hampshire and professional seafarer, 
discusses his new book, “The Mortal Sea: Fishing the Atlantic in 
the Age of Sail.” Credit: UNH Video Services.
fishermen, Bolster tells a story that is 
both ecological and human: the prelude 
to an environmental disaster. Over 
generations, harvesters created a quiet 
catastrophe as the sea could no longer 
renew itself. 
Bolster writes in the hope that the 
intimate relationship humans have long 
had with the ocean, and the species that 
live within it, can be restored for future 
generations.
“Today’s fishermen are descendants of 
the oldest continually operated business 
enterprise in the New World, one predicated on renewable resources, and one with a centuries­old 
history of conversations about conservation. Yet today both fisherman and fish are in crisis,” Bolster 
says.
Formerly a professional seafarer, Bolster started fishing as a child with his father in Connecticut’s 
Norwalk Islands and got his first boat at age 12. He spent a decade fishing and captaining vessels 
from tall ships and charter boats to oceanographic research vessels out of Woods Hole. He recalls 
one summer day in the 1970s jigging on Brown’s Bank in Plymouth, Mass. “until we were knee­deep 
in cod, arms numb from landing fish on three­pound stainless­steel jigs that were lethal, even 
without bait, in the mysterious crosscurrents below.”
“Back then, before I understood the plight of the living oceans – or knew that thoughtful fishermen 
from generations past had realized they were hitting it too hard – I enthusiastically long­lined 
swordfish on the northeast peak of Georges Bank, east of Cape Cod,” Bolster says. 
“Sometimes I think I know too much now about the changes in the sea to fish anymore,” he adds, 
“but the question really is one of scale. How many fish should one catch?”
The University of New Hampshire, founded in 1866, is a world­class public research university with 
the feel of a New England liberal arts college. A land, sea, and space­grant university, UNH is the 
state's flagship public institution, enrolling 12,200 undergraduate and 2,300 graduate students.
­30­
Media Contact: Lori Wright | 603­862­0574 | UNH Media Relations 
Copyright © 2018, The University of New Hampshire  •  Durham, NH 03824  •  UNH main directory: (603) 862­1234. 
Media Relations is a unit of Communications & Public Affairs which is a division of University Advancement. 
ADA Acknowledgement | Contact the Webmaster | UNH Today | UNH Social Media Index
Page 2 of 2UNH News: UNH Professor Pens Book on History of Fishing the Atlantic
2/6/2018http://www.unh.edu/delete/news/releases/2012/oct/lw08bolster.cfm.html


UNH Professor Pens Book on History of Fishing the Atlantic

UNH Scholars' Repository

University of New HampshireUniversity of New Hampshire Scholars' RepositoryMedia Relations Administrative Offices10-8-2012UNH Professor Pens Book on History of Fishingthe AtlanticLori WrightUNH Media RelationsFollow this and additional works at: https://scholars.unh.edu/newsThis News Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Administrative Offices at University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. It hasbeen accepted for inclusion in Media Relations by an authorized administrator of University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. For moreinformation, please contact nicole.hentz@unh.edu.Recommended CitationWright, Lori, "UNH Professor Pens Book on History of Fishing the Atlantic" (2012). UNH Today. 4070.https://scholars.unh.edu/news/4070W. Jeffrey Bolster, an associate professor of history at the University of New Hampshire and professional seafarer, has written the new book, “The Mortal Sea: Fishing the Atlantic in the Age of Sail". Credit: UNH Photographic Services.October 8, 2012 UNH Professor Pens Book on History of Fishing the AtlanticSince the Viking ascendancy in the Middle Ages, the Atlantic has shaped the lives of people who depended upon it for survival. And just as surely, people have shaped the Atlantic. In his innovative account of this interdependency,W. Jeffrey Bolster, a historian at the University of New Hampshire, takes us through a millennium­long environmental history of our impact on one of the largest ecosystems in the world.The UNH associate professor’s new book, “The Mortal Sea: Fishing the Atlantic in the Age of Sail,” is available today, Oct. 8, 2012 (The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press).While overfishing is often thought of as a contemporary problem, Bolster reveals that humans were transforming the sea long before factory trawlers turned fishing from a handliner’s art into an industrial enterprise. The western Atlantic’s legendary fishing banks, stretching from Cape Cod to Newfoundland, have attracted fishermen for more than 500 years. Bolster follows the effects of this siren’s song from its medieval European origins to the advent of industrialized fishing in American waters at the beginning of the 20th century.“Beginning the story well before industrialization emphasizes the longevity of people’s short­sighted impact on the ocean, and emphasizes, as well, how modern technology was not necessary to affect the balance of nature,” Bolster says.“With its deep roots, this tale is probably the longest history possible of Euro­Americans’ interaction with any aspect of their natural environment, a story of unrealistic hopes, frequent articulated concerns, destruction, and denial,” he says. Blending marine biology, ecological insight, and a remarkable cast of characters, from notable explorers to scientists to an army of unknown Media RelationsPage 1 of 2UNH News: UNH Professor Pens Book on History of Fishing the Atlantic2/6/2018http://www.unh.edu/delete/news/releases/2012/oct/lw08bolster.cfm.htmlW. Jeffrey Bolster, an associate professor of history at the University of New Hampshire and professional seafarer, discusses his new book, “The Mortal Sea: Fishing the Atlantic in the Age of Sail.” Credit: UNH Video Services.fishermen, Bolster tells a story that is both ecological and human: the prelude to an environmental disaster. Over generations, harvesters created a quiet catastrophe as the sea could no longer renew itself. Bolster writes in the hope that the intimate relationship humans have long had with the ocean, and the species that live within it, can be restored for future generations.“Today’s fishermen are descendants of the oldest continually operated business enterprise in the New World, one predicated on renewable resources, and one with a centuries­old history of conversations about conservation. Yet today both fisherman and fish are in crisis,” Bolster says.Formerly a professional seafarer, Bolster started fishing as a child with his father in Connecticut’s Norwalk Islands and got his first boat at age 12. He spent a decade fishing and captaining vessels from tall ships and charter boats to oceanographic research vessels out of Woods Hole. He recalls one summer day in the 1970s jigging on Brown’s Bank in Plymouth, Mass. “until we were knee­deep in cod, arms numb from landing fish on three­pound stainless­steel jigs that were lethal, even without bait, in the mysterious crosscurrents below.”“Back then, before I understood the plight of the living oceans – or knew that thoughtful fishermen from generations past had realized they were hitting it too hard – I enthusiastically long­lined swordfish on the northeast peak of Georges Bank, east of Cape Cod,” Bolster says. “Sometimes I think I know too much now about the changes in the sea to fish anymore,” he adds, “but the question really is one of scale. How many fish should one catch?”The University of New Hampshire, founded in 1866, is a world­class public research university with the feel of a New England liberal arts college. A land, sea, and space­grant university, UNH is the state's flagship public institution, enrolling 12,200 undergraduate and 2,300 graduate students.­30­Media Contact: Lori Wright | 603­862­0574 | UNH Media Relations Copyright © 2018, The University of New Hampshire  •  Durham, NH 03824  •  UNH main directory: (603) 862­1234. Media Relations is a unit of Communications & Public Affairs which is a division of University Advancement. ADA Acknowledgement | Contact the Webmaster | UNH Today | UNH Social Media IndexPage 2 of 2UNH News: UNH Professor Pens Book on History of Fishing the Atlantic2/6/2018http://www.unh.edu/delete/news/releases/2012/oct/lw08bolster.cfm.html

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UNH Professor Pens Book on History of Fishing the Atlantic

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