Scientific investigations of the time warned that the new technology should be applied judiciously - but had little effect on fishing.īy 1930 there were clear signs that the fleet had grown too efficient in relation to the capacity of the stocks to sustain growth in landings. Even then there was concern that the new technology was quite powerful, and could threaten the productivity of the stocks. More over, the community and social dynamics of fishermen was changed forever. The introduction of the steam- powered trawler from England heralded a sea change in how groundfish were caught, and rapidly replaced the schooner fleets. The industrial revolution caught up with the fishing industry around the turn of the century. Catches of salt cod supported nearly 400 schooners in each of these ports, and a multitude of shore-side businesses including salt mining, ice harvesting in fresh-water ponds, and a boat building industry that made the shipyards on the Essex River among the busiest and best known in the world. Once, great fleets of vessels sailed from Gloucester and Boston to the eastern- most reaches of North America - the Grand Banks of Newfoundland.
A mixture of bottom-dwelling fishes including cod, haddock, redfish and flounders constitute the groundfish resource. The fishing industry of New England has, for over 400 years, been identified both economically and culturally with groundfishing. Understanding the historical, scientific and human dimensions that influenced the fish, fishermen and management decisions is a necessary step to begin harmonizing the fishery with the ecosystem. How we came to the current situation, and missed opportunities to put the fishery on a sustainable basis form the thesis of this review. Now even the venerable Atlantic Cod, resilient to years of overfishing, could join the ranks of species written-off as commercially extinct. Atlantic halibut, ocean perch, haddock and yellowtail flounder once fed millions of Americans. A continuing trend over the past century has been the overexploitation and eventual collapse of species after species. The diversity and productivity of New England fisheries was once unequaled. Increasingly efficient fishing methods, competition between fleet sectors employing various gears, inability to act in harmony with international partners, and the failure to heed scientific advice sound like current themes, but in fact have been echoed repeatedly since the turn of the century. Many of the problems currently faced by the industry were foreseen as early as the first decade of the new century. This review is intended to look back to the beginnings of the 20th century, and to follow the development of groundfishing to the current times.
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