Commercial Fishing in Shakespeare’s England: Tools, Trade, and Fish Days

“Bait the hook well; this fish will bite.” So says Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing, and he’s not alone—Shakespeare drops over 70 references to fish and fishing across his plays, from slippery metaphors to full-on fishing scenes, including actual Fishermen characters in Pericles. But behind those lines lies a very real part of daily life in Elizabethan England.

In a world where Protestant reform gave rise to fish days on the calendar and entire industries formed around what came out of the water, one has to wonder: Where did all this fish actually come from? Who was catching it? What tools did they use? And could Shakespeare himself have cast a line into the Thames for a bit of dinner?

Today, we’re casting our net into the past to find out. Joining us is historian Mark Ferguson, here to help us explore the methods, markets, and meaning behind commercial and sport fishing in Shakespeare’s England.

Let’s dive in.

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