Supplement Tables S2 and S3 for McClenachan et al. 2024: Reference lists for historical Pacific cod catch reconstruction from AD 1864 to 1950

In the Gulf of Alaska, a series of marine heat waves depleted Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus) biomass to the lowest abundance ever recorded and led to the fishery’s closure in 2020. While the fishery has been productive for decades, this collapse may have historical precedents. Traditional knowledge holders refer to cod as “the fish that stop,” with the 1930s suggested as a period of decline. Here we conduct a catch reconstruction of the early commercial fishery (1864-1950), confirming a rapid catch decline in the 1920s and 1930s. Next, we evaluate evidence for possible drivers. We document changes to demand and technology that contributed to declining catch. However, we also find both qualitative and quantitative evidence of depletion, suggesting catch declines were not driven entirely by social factors. Overfishing may have contributed to localised catch declines as evidenced by declining catch rates in heavily fished localities. We also find evidence for climate as a driver of regional decline, with the period of catch decline characterized by up to 2° C higher temperatures as compared to the period of high fisheries production. Our analysis underscores the importance of understanding long-term drivers of fisheries productivity the value of linking fisheries and climate history. This data release includes Supplemental Tables S2 and S3, which list the references and sources used to generate the Pacific cod catch reconstruction data.