I have a new paper out today in EARLY MODERN LITERARY STUDIES! In this one I talk about Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Here's a quick thread with some of my thoughts... 🧚‍♀️🐍 Link below to paper (freely available): journals.shu.ac.uk/index.php/EM...

Does your town (or any you know of) have HERRING🐟 in their coat of arms/flag? Please reply tagging in @projectfishistory.bsky.social if so! @thefsbi.bsky.social @icesmarine.bsky.social @ystadaucymru.bsky.social Ceredigion County (Wales) Great Yarmouth (England) Nefyn (Wales) Scheveningen (NL)

Fantastic visit to Cefas this week, chatting with herring experts and channeling our inner ‘Raiders of the Lost Archives’ 📖🐟 @cefasgovuk.bsky.social @johnkpinnegar.bsky.social @georginahunt.bsky.social @emilyphilly.bsky.social

Hopefully lots of records on herring! 🐟

Beautiful illustration by @bighippoart.bsky.social clearly demonstrating the ecological importance of herring to a variety of seabirds, fish and marine mammals, off Rockabill, Co Dublin

Webinar alert! Join us for a project introduction, some early findings & find out how you can get involved. When: Fri 5th Dec, 10am (GMT) Where: Online (Teams) Schedule: 20-30 minute presentation + Q&A Interested? DM for a link to join!

Great to see this new & important paper on ecological degradation and shifting baselines in The Gulf 🐟🪸 tinyurl.com/rhyrs2y7

Picture of stone #fishweir Gored Tre-Castle, in the Menai Straits, a large fish trap thought to be medieval exposed at low tide, near #beaumaris, #isleofanglesey, #wales #fishweirs #CoastalHeritage

Back from a very successful trip to the IOM speaking with locals and visiting archives to piece together historical accounts of the herring fishery. We stumbled across these beautiful title page illustrations of marine biological station reports based on Puffin island in the late 1800s

Huge thanks to Dr Gareth Huws for a wonderful lecture yesterday evening, using the Plas Newydd & Bodrhyddan papers at @archpbu.bsky.social to explore the operation of Irish-Welsh estates. Thanks to everyone who attended in person and online. A pleasure to co-host with @historicirishho.bsky.social

We're currently visiting the Isle of Man and and hoping to speak with any active or retired herring fishers on the island 🐟Tomorrow we're diving into the @manxheritage.bsky.social archives! @georginahunt.bsky.social @emilyphilly.bsky.social

We're currently visiting the Isle of Man and and hoping to speak with any active or retired herring fishers on the island 🐟Tomorrow we're diving into the @manxheritage.bsky.social archives! @georginahunt.bsky.social @emilyphilly.bsky.social

This time last week our team were midway through an interdisciplinary research visit at the National library of Wales 📖 The marine scientists came away with a newfound appreciation for the art of deciphering handwriting! @ystadaucymru.bsky.social @leafyhistory.bsky.social @emilyphilly.bsky.social

New evidence in @science.org that herring🐟 spawn where they were spawned (natal homing) adds urgency to the work @projectfishistory.bsky.social is doing @sosbangor.bsky.social - identifying unmapped spawning areas using historical sources 📜 & living knowledge 🎣🗣️ www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

The book is really interesting! From my history of nature perspective there's an account of the fishes caught at Scarborough 🎣, the herrings of Yarmouth ⛵(@projectfishistory.bsky.social), and a fun description of the lions of the Tower of London 🦁 (who were sent by the Emperor of Morocco of course)!

Images of wood #fishweir wicker fence 2 meter tall on the shore #RhosonSea #ConwyCounty Borough, #Wales. Historical sources indicted used for seasonal fisheries for herring and mackerel late 19th century. 1/6 #maritimeheritage #oceandecadeheritage #coastalhistory

It was great to present about our @projectfishistory.bsky.social research at #ICESASC25 and an honour to be on the shortlist for the best presentation! What a great week! @sosbangor.bsky.social @icesmarine.bsky.social

We're using a very wide range of sources to patch together maps of where and when herring used to spawn.

Great talk on using historical sources to map herring spawning grounds by @georginahunt.bsky.social for @projectfishistory.bsky.social.

Guess where we’ve been this week! Hint: you might see a dolphin or two here 🐬 #destinationx #huntforherring #fishfriday

Where are we today?📍Hint: it’s chucking it down! #herring #destinationx 🐟

We'll be visiting ports in Mid-South Wales e.g., Fishguard and Aberystwyth next week (2nd-4th September). If you're from the area and know anything about the Irish Sea herring fishery (past or present), or know someone who does, please get in touch here or at [email protected]🐟

Beautiful scientific illustration in a Government fisheries report, 1884 -Electric ray caught off Scotland -Herring measurements @projectfishistory.bsky.social

HERRING & POTATOES 🐟🥔 Herrings and potatoes played a vital role in the annual prosperity of coastal communities such as the Isle of Man. In the 1800's unproductive fishing seasons and harvests left the poorest with no source of food and income.

Happy #SharkAndRayAwarenessDay 🦈 To celebrate these important ocean dwellers we've selected two illustrations from William Yarrell's 'History of British Fishes', Third Edition, 1859. We have Torpedo marmorata, an electric ray and the smooth-hound, Mustelus mustelus

Thanks to NWIFCA, we've gotten our hands on some fascinating early 1900s reports from the Lancashire and Western Sea Fisheries Committee 📚These reports include notes on the timing and success of the herring fishery, the condition of herring, and a district map revealing historic herring grounds!

Had a great trip to NW England last week! One highlight was our visit to Fleetwood Maritime Museum ⚓⛵ where staff and volunteers picked out a few hidden gems for us — including Close’s 1904 fishing chart of the Irish Sea, marking historic herring fishing grounds! 🗺️

Great to be in the @britishlibrary.bsky.social earlier this week chasing sources on herring 🐟 for @projectfishistory.bsky.social @sosbangor.bsky.social Thanks @leafyhistory.bsky.social for the cross-disciplinary training in using this incredible resource! @ukri.org

Newspaper archives for marine biology research Amongst crossword puzzles & sports news are fragments of evidence we can piece together to understand change b4 scientific surveys started Species, date, location, size-all data points for analysis In this case, on marine megafauna we have lost

Fish folk - any idea what glassen is the old name for? @projectfishistory.bsky.social @fishtwitcher.bsky.social @greenleejw.bsky.social

Herring Knowledge Wanted! Bangor University FisHistory Project is investigating the history of the Irish Sea herring fishery so if you know anything about herring read more at www.solwayfirthpartnership.c...

Online resources are great, but sometimes it is nice to be in an actual library looking at actual books for research Marine biology using historical sources @projectfishistory.bsky.social @sosbangor.bsky.social @archpbu.bsky.social @ystadaucymru.bsky.social @leafyhistory.bsky.social

We’re visiting NW England next week (23–27 June) to talk to locals from historic herring ports 🐟 If you’re from the area and know anything about the Irish Sea herring fishery (past or present), or know someone who does, please get in touch here or at [email protected]

Last week, we visited the Amgueddfa Forwrol Llyn Maritime Museum, which has an excellent exhibition on Nefyn herring 🐟, women of the sea 🙋‍♀️, and artefacts from other local fisheries 🦞. It’s a must-see if you’re in the area!

The earliest printed map specifically of Wales was Humphrey Llwyd’s 1573 Cambriae typus 🗺️ It contains an intriguing reference to fisheries in Cardigan Bay “Hic halecum captura” – Here is the catch 🐟

For @projectfishistory.bsky.social we are using archives to help identify herring spawning habitat overlooked by modern surveys

" @icesmarine.bsky.social advises that no activities on spawning habitats should be allowed" Depends on knowing the location of past/present/possible future spawning habitat-what @projectfishistory.bsky.social @sosbangor.bsky.social hopes to achieve @ukri.org @oceanspast.bsky.social

Wren hunting – on St Stephen’s day (26/27 December) – with sticks & stones – believed to result in good herring season 🐟🪶

Fascinating demonstration of the application of alternative data sources - poetry - in marine historical ecology - to inform conservation & management @oceanspast.bsky.social @projectfishistory.bsky.social @leafyhistory.bsky.social www.scientificamerican.com/article/scie...

📢 Calling all members of the fishing and seafood industry, historians, government and local experts! 🐟 Know where herring were caught, when they arrived, where they spawned, or how they were used? 🗣️ We want to hear from you! 📩 Contact [email protected]

Dr Marian Gwyn, promoting the petition to save Bangor University Archives and Special Collections at our National Library of Wales earlier today. Please support: www.change.org/p/save-your-... Diolch! @archpbu.bsky.social

Marine historical ecology The great thing about this research is finding leads to priceless marine biological data in the most unexpected places The knowledge of historians is crucial in tracking these down! @ystadaucymru.bsky.social @leafyhistory.bsky.social @projectfishistory.bsky.social

Challenge accepted 🫡

From "kings" and "queens" to "over-day tarts" and "wine-drinkers", herring has held more titles than a Tudor monarch! 🐟 #FishFridays #Herring #OceansPast

Early 1800s, Isle of Man. The major herring fishery meant it was a good time to be a gull, but not a dog…. #Herring #FishFridays #OceansPast

#Herring & diet of the #gentry in #Wales - @alecbmmoore.bsky.social there is at least one reference to herring in Eleanor Butler's diary 1784 - probably more await discovery in diaries & household records of the #LadiesOfLlangollen @ystadaucymru.bsky.social archives.library.wales/index.php/ha...

"Poor Taff", Shon-Ap-Morgan, migrating to #London, with #leek and red #herring as indicators of Welshness #FishFriday #identity #Wales #heritage #heritage #InnSign #envhist #fish #migration #symbols #stereotype @projectfishistory.bsky.social

Extract from a 1682 book 'SALT AND SEA'. Apparently Welsh herring boats were piddling! 😂 This is a quote from an earlier 'paper' for 'parliament men', and 'fishmongers' by Captain Lloyd, Welsh gent and fisher. Does anyone know who this is? #EdwardLhuyd? #WelshHistory #OceansPast #FishFridays

And finally welcome to FisHistory @jangeerthiddink.bsky.social, a marine benthic ecologist who studies the effects of human disturbance on the benthos, and Dr Shaun Evans, the director of @ystadaucymru.bsky.social and Lecturer in Early modern and Welsh History @bangoruniversity.bsky.social

Ac yn olaf, croeso i FisHistory i @jangeerthiddink.bsky.social, ecolegydd dyfnforol sy'n astudio effeithiau aflonyddwch dynol ar y benthos, ac i Dr Shaun Evans, cyfarwyddwr @ystadaucymru.bsky.social a Darlithydd mewn Hanes Modern Cynnar a Hanes Cymru @prifysgolbangor.bsky.social