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fullscreen The herring stock may have declined as early as the 13th century due to overfishing. Archive image. Photo: Michael Probst/AP/TT
Reduced herring stocks due to overfishing may have been a fact as early as the 13th century.
This is what researchers at the University of Gothenburg, among others, believe, who have studied old fish bones from archaeological excavations in countries around the Baltic Sea, reports Vetenskapsradion.
Through DNA analyzes of archaeological finds of fish bones, the researchers have seen that the genetic variation of the herring has been lower during certain periods, which could be a sign of overfishing.
Since the 1970s, however, it is estimated that herring have declined by 80 percent in the Baltic Sea, largely due to fishing.