Chasing Fish: 130 Years of Innovation, Displacement and Depletion in Scottish Fisheries

ABSTRACT Rebuilding the depleted fisheries of the 21st century requires an understanding of past drivers of their decline. Despite Scotland's central role in the commercial exploitation of North Sea fisheries for over a century, associations between technological innovations, regulatory introductions and fishery landings have not previously been quantified. Here we use data from annual Scottish Government fisheries reports (1890–2020) to examine these associations. Traditional passive fishing gears were displaced by mobile gears in distinct phases across the demersal, pelagic and shellfish sectors, with increases in landings recorded for variable periods. Demersal line fishers were displaced by trawlers from 1899, pelagic drift netters were superseded by pelagic trawlers and purse‐seiners from 1963, and shellfish creels were succeeded by trawlers targeting Nephrops norvegicus from 1964. The widespread adoption of steam propulsion (late 19th/early 20th century), motor propulsion and ancillary technologies, for example, echosounders (mid‐20th century) further increased the power of fishing fleets. The sequential transition from passive to active and more environmentally damaging gears across all major fishery sectors (demersal, pelagic and shellfish) respectively indicates intensification of fishing effort for lower trophic levels, with increasing impacts upon marine ecosystems. Technological progress was facilitated by governing bodies over the 20th century through loans and subsidies. Efforts to curtail fishing effort were then reactive to declines in fish stocks from the latter‐20th century. This century‐long perspective demonstrates how technological innovations can swiftly be adopted with subsequent adverse ecological consequences, and highlights the importance of pre‐emptively managing innovations to enhance fisheries sustainability, rather than drive declines.