Cod, construction, and communities: Relations between fish and architectural history in Ísafjörður, Iceland

<ns3:p> Situated in the Westfjords of Iceland, Ísafjörður is an important place in the history of cod fisheries. This paper discusses the methodology of a weeklong workshop on the intricate connections between urban development and the Atlantic cod ( <ns3:italic>Gadus morhua</ns3:italic> ) populations. The following topics were addressed: 1) the urban development of Ísafjörður, 2) cod’s life cycle, and 3) Icelandic fisheries. Several approaches were employed, including: a) analysis of archival photography, b) consolidation of historical mapping, c) identification of cod movement patterns, d) oceanographic data assessment and mapping, e) investigation of vessel technology and capacity, and f) analysis of national fisheries data. Visual representation was used as a unifying tool to translate between the oceanic processes and the built environment. Providing an overview of the workshop’s experiments and achievements, this paper discusses methodological strategies that can be used in future research into similar topics. </ns3:p>