Belgian sea fisheries landings in Belgian and foreign ports amounted to 21.577 tonnes ((89,5 million EUR) in 2007 (Source: Fisheries Service, Flemish government). Landing statistics are generally available in digital format from the late 1990s. Data before 1970 are not easily accessible. However, older and disaggregated data are available from 1929 onwards in fragmented publications and journals, dispersed in different collections and libraries. Completing time series, based on this historical data, will help us recover a wider historical perspective on trends in catch and landings statistics, and evolutions in the fleet and may support the formulation of (ecological) research hypotheses, underpinned by data.

Objectives: To compile historical data on sea fisheries in Belgium, from the earliest possible date and for the best available level of disaggregation Inventory and describe historical data on catch, landings & values, and capacity and size of the fishing fleet Recover, scan, quality-control and store historical data in a user friendly format Provide results to the research community, policy level, and to the interested public (on-line and publications)