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I have been reading about medieval fishing, and how it was so widespread they had to institute the first laws limiting how many fish could be taken. This got me thinking about the Pacific Northwest. Salmon come up river to spawn, and many are eaten by bears, effectively moving nutrients from the sea to the surrounding land. I don't recall the exact figure, but I know the forests of Vancouver are dependent on the salmon run. My question is if something similar happened in Medieval Europe, with humans instead of bears, and where I could read more about it.

I ask here in meta because I'm not sure if it needs more development or if it even belongs on Biology.SE.

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    $\begingroup$ I think if you cited sources both for the magnitude of medieval fishing and also for the importance of land predators specifically (i.e. bears) in capturing the nutrients for salmon (versus the salmon migrating and dying of all other causes) you would have a well-researched question that would be received well. Certainly isn't my area and I'm not sure how possible it will be to answer according to our standards. You might also think about whether Europe is actually the best geographical example. $\endgroup$
    – Bryan Krause Mod
    Commented Oct 22, 2020 at 18:59

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