In the long history of New England’s fabled fisheries, the story of Atlantic cod offers a critical lesson. The first European settlers encountered schools of cod so dense, legend had it that a person could walk across the water on their backs. But our taste for firm, flavorful cod has reduced their numbers drastically.
Scientists estimate that the cod population in the rich fishing grounds of Georges Bank is now one-tenth of the level needed to support a healthy population for the long term, and just a fraction of historic abundance. Monster cod weighing in at 60 to 75 pounds that were once a staple of the fishery have long gone to market. Today, cod are caught as fast as they grow.
Cod, haddock, and flounder are species of groundfish—fish that live or feed near the ocean floor. There are nineteen types of groundfish caught in fisheries from Canada to New Jersey. By the late 1970s, foreign fishing fleets had decimated populations on Georges Bank and elsewhere. Congress responded by extending US jurisdiction out to 200 miles from the coast, effectively ending foreign fishing in these waters. However, within ten years, American fishing vessels were catching more than the foreign trawlers before them. By 1990, the New England fishing fleet had grown four times larger than what we now know a sustainable fishery can support.