Abstract
The Firth of Forth has been profoundly modified. Overfishing has had severe effects since about 1840, initially through pressure on the oyster beds, then on local herring stocks and finally through the depletion of white fish. Marine and riverine pollution became severe from the middle of the nineteenth century. Destruction of wildlife on the islands started in the Middle Ages. Generally, the driver of change has been economic history, manifesting itself in more efficient technologies of destruction, fear of ‘holding back progress’ and demand from ever-widening markets. But counter currents have been set up by socio-political change, the acquisition of expertise in controlling damage, and in some cases the emergence of a new sensitivity towards other species. Change is not always one way.
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Smout, T.C. (2017). The Firth of Forth: What Drives Change. In: Worthington, D. (eds) The New Coastal History. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64090-7_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64090-7_3
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Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
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Online ISBN: 978-3-319-64090-7
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