Una aproximación al sector pesquero tradicional vasco (c.1800-c.1880)

Abstract

This paper deals with the Basque traditional fisheries during the 19th century. It contends that its performance depended to a great extent on the conditions of the natural environment. Nevertheless, social conditionings arose among the natural restrictions. Most of the research on fishing history has been focused on a supply-side analysis. However, apart from some few exceptions, none of the existing research has shown special interest in the role played by demand in the evolution of the fishing sector. What this paper seeks to explain is that although the productive structure of the Basque traditional fishing communities was directly shaped by the ecological behaviour of the exploited resources, market and demand conditions were crucial to understand how it devolved.