Book Review

Paul Holm, Tim D. Smith and David J. Starkey (eds), The Exploited Seas: New Directions for Marine Environmental History, Research in Maritime History, vol. 21, International Maritime Economic History Association, St John's, Newfoundland, 2001. pp. 215. US$15.

Gordon Boyce and Richard Gorski (eds), Resources and Infrastructures in the Maritime Ecology, 1500-2000, Research in Maritime History, vol. 22, International Maritime Economic History Association, St John's, Newfoundland, 2002. pp. 161. US$15.

Maritime history encompasses a very broad range of historical styles from the post-modern Bounty of Greg Dening to the dry, enlightening technical work of David Brown. These three slim volumes are from a series entitled Research in Maritime History, published in Canada by the International Maritime Economic History Association. As a group they illustrate the diversity of approaches now evident in maritime history.	1
Much writing on the subject of whaling tends to take the more colourful and romantic approach to maritime history, possibly because of Moby Dick. Volume 20 is, however, refreshingly prosaic. The monograph discusses the short-lived Aquaforte whaling station established in Newfoundland in 1902 by a Norwegian family with long-standing whaling interests. The authors, Dickinson and Sanger, who have written extensively about whaling in Newfoundland, draw upon company records preserved by the Ellefsen family to provide a life history of the shore-based whaling establishment.	2
The authors have written a useful introduction to the development of `Norwegian whaling', a technique based on the use of cannon-fired harpoons, strong cables and steam winches mounted in a manoeuvrable steam powered whale catcher (incidentally the prototype for World War II anti-submarine vessels). This technology allowed the exploitation of larger and faster whale species such as humpbacks, fins and mini whales. These were killed and brought back to shore stations for processing. The Ellefsen family had considerable experience in shore-based whaling in Norway and Iceland in the period 1870 to 1905 and the Aquaforte whaling station was an extension of these interests. Typically, however, whaling over-exploited the resource to a point where diminishing returns and later a Government ban forced the closure of the industry.	3
This is an extremely useful case study, particularly in the Australian context where Norwegian whalers briefly established themselves around the coast at roughly the same time. What is never explained is the obvious question: what led to the folly of over-exploitation? The Ellefsens were sensible people experienced in whaling and clearly would have been aware of the dangers. Or did they simply have no idea of how many whales there were?	4
Volume 21, a collection of papers edited by Holm, Smith and Starkey, offers a new dimension to maritime history — that of maritime environmental history. Maritime environmental history is a long way from roistering buccaneers; it sits firmly in the world of data, testing hypotheses and ecosystems. The broad aim of maritime environmental history, according to the authors, is to bring history and ecology together. The papers relate to a particular study, called History of Marine Animal Populations (HMAP), which aims to provide a historical dimension to a broader ecological project, the Census of Marine Life. The Census of Marine Life records the current species in the marine environment and their relative population levels. The HMAP project aims to analyse historical and paleo-ecological data relating to human exploitation over the last 500 years in seven spatial zones, and to test six hypotheses for each of these zones! Clearly this is an interesting way to understand marine resources.	5
This is a welcome approach to studies on the environment, which often lack a historical perspective and portray the environment as a pristine Garden of Eden, disturbed and destroyed by the ruthless forces of imperialism and capitalism. The HMAP project aims to dispute that notion by viewing fish populations as intrinsically dynamic, changing in response to a variety of natural and anthropogenic factors.	6
These papers are from the first HMAP workshop, The Exploited Seas, which set the research agenda for the HMAP project, and is expected to run for some ten years. As a consequence, the papers reflect the variable level of research in some areas and are often somewhat sketchy. They are bound by a common view that there is a historical record of fishing that can be used to reconstruct the population dynamics of fish populations over time. Through testing hypotheses, the mechanics of changing population dynamics can be understood.	7
The introductory paper by the editors discusses their project and outlines a program for maritime environmental history. There follows a series of three papers on Newfoundland fisheries in which the process of historical research is furthest advanced. The next papers are more preliminary studies setting out sources and developing limited arguments for fisheries in the White and Barents Seas, medieval and early modern Denmark, Northern California, Latin America, South Africa and Australia and New Zealand. Finally there is a brief paper on whale ecology and a summary epilogue on the HMAP project.	8
The papers are generally well written and worth noting by maritime historians. Obviously the end product of the HMAP project will be worth waiting for. It will also be interesting to see how the complexities of historical information and human behaviour are integrated with ecological data. This has always been the weak point of similar projects such as cultural ecology. Similarly the testing of hypotheses is rarely seen in history these days, outside historical archaeology, and it will be interesting to see how the HMAP progresses with this methodology. But these are not unique problems for HMAP; they run through the whole field of environmental history.	9
The final volume represents a more conventional economic history approach to maritime history. The theme of the volume is the interaction between resources and infrastructure in the maritime economic sector. The theory is that flows of resources are coordinated by different types of physical and intangible infrastructure which develop sector-specific forms. The eight papers that follow the introduction by Gordon Boyce elaborate on this theme.	10
Papers by Miller on ships' agents and by Muller and Ojla on consular services illustrate the nature of intangible infrastructure. In particular both papers show how the nature of the service provided varied according to geography, economy, and over time. Chircop presents a discussion of what he terms the narrow sea view of the Mediterranean, but despite comments in the introduction, it is not clear how the paper addresses the volume's themes. Papers by Holm and Hill look at resources and infrastructure in the Danish and Dumfriesshire respectively. Hill's paper works quite well at teasing out the details of the infrastructure and why it was constructed. Holm's is far too general to make much of an impression, covering 500 years and all of Denmark. Karlsdottir, in contrast, focuses on a single resource, North Sea herring, and examines the development of regulatory infrastructure to control the resource since World War II. This interesting paper could easily have been included in the previous volume.	11
The final two papers are Tonizzi's on the development of Genoa, and Reveley and Tull's on centralised port planning in Britain and New Zealand. Tonizzi discusses the development of Genoa from 1861, with an emphasis on the difficulties of developing the port infrastructure. However, despite the infrastructure problems, the port and the economy did seem to grow. Reveley and Tull look at examples of attempts at centralised port planning and conclude that political factors are often decisive. They also make the point that factors involved in port development may make effective planning too difficult. Perhaps the authorities in Britain and New Zealand should have looked at Genoa as an example.	12
Overall these are fairly average papers, derived from some form of pre-conference mentioned only briefly in the introduction. Some papers are of interest, some less so. The absence of quality maps hinders comprehension for those who are not familiar with the relevant geographies.	13
These three volumes, taken as a whole, illustrate the diversity of promising approaches developing in the field of maritime history. The series Research in Maritime History is clearly one to watch.	14
HLA-Envirosciences Pty Ltd, Sydney IAIN STUART

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