54 pages • 1-hour read
Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World
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Themes
Human Responsibilities and Impacts on Nature
Kurlansky uses cod as a case study of the many ways that humans have detrimentally impacted the ecological systems around them without regard for the consequences. The text explores the historical development of cod fishing and the resulting capitalist free-for-fall it incited. In doing so, Kurlansky reveals the damaging impacts that humans have had on nature, arguing for the importance of recognizing our responsibilities in preserving the natural world.
The human impact on nature is first revealed in the Prologue. The 1992 Canadian moratorium against groundfishing arises in direct response to the overfishing and depletion of groundfish, especially cod, in the waters around Newfoundland on the Grand Banks. To instill a feeling of tension and curiosity, the book begins with this end result of a “1,000-year fishing spree” (14) gone wrong, before jumping back in history to explain how that spree began and where the process led. Crucially, this human impact is primarily driven by the race to control natural resources and make money, on both an individual and societal level.
The shocking abundance of cod in the North Atlantic, particularly around Newfoundland and New England, directly inspired increasing popularity and demand, leading to the feverish craze of overfishing. In this way, the human societal drive for capitalist profit causes the negative environmental impact seen throughout the book. It is also significant to note that cod is not the only species impacted by this drive, as Kurlansky also mentions other examples, such as the once-plentiful passenger pigeon which was hunted to extinction by the Europeans.
It is only after this impact on nature is felt by human commercial efforts that humans at last recognize the consequences of their own actions. This was the case in the depletion of cod stocks felt in Iceland, Cornwall, Newfoundland, and elsewhere. Kurlansky specifically argues that nature is complex and tightly interwoven, and humans are part of that system whether they wish to admit it or not. If human interference has the greatest impact on nature, he argues, then humans also have the greatest duty to its care. This is necessary not only for nature’s survival, but for human survival as well, for we are inherently dependent on the resources of these ecological systems.
Kurlansky highlights some examples of conversation efforts in the book, such as the 1992 moratorium, or Gloucester’s fight to keep oil companies off the Georges Banks. He also explains that the fragility of nature is also why it was controversial when, in 2024, Canada finally ended its groundfishing moratorium against all advice from the scientific community. He implies that money-making efforts continue to hinder effective conservation, suggesting that humans have not yet learned their lesson.
Abundance, Scarcity, and the Economy
As Kurlansky demonstrates throughout the book, the abundance of natural resources, such as game and fish, directly inspires the commercial and economic success of several social groups and nations, leading to a capitalist free-for-all. This capitalist drive then directly and negatively impacts the very abundance that inspired it to begin with, as human interference damages local ecological systems. This process is true across the globe and for many species and other natural resources. The book argues, however, that cod is a particularly indicative example of the cycle of abundance and scarcity that drives the global economy.
Chapter 3 illustrates the connections between abundance and the economy in the flood of European fishermen who traveled to Newfoundland and New England after the discovery of their cod-rich waters. North America possessed an abundance of natural resources, from fish and game to timber and crops, that had never been seen or even imagined in Europe. Of these, Kurlansky argues, cod created the greatest craze among merchants and trade markets, leading to unprecedented commercial success. In offering examples such as the Puritan colonies’ success thanks to cod and Iceland’s successful efforts to protect its codfishing waters, Kurlansky highlights how the enormous abundance of cod fishing led directly to the economic success of local populations.
However, this economic success only fuels further demand and capitalist greed. As Kurlansky demonstrates with the Newfoundland fisheries, the enduring popularity of cod led to large trawlers depleting the cod stock beyond recovery. While the abundance of cod had formed the backbone of the economy of the local traditional fishing community, the scarcity of cod destroyed it. In featuring Sam Lee and the other men of the Sentinel Fishery, Kurlansky offers an example in microcosm of this larger boom-and-bust phenomenon, depicting how the fishermen are now left in an economically vulnerable position. His analysis also suggests that the economic effects are unevenly distributed, with major corporations like McDonald’s—who owned many of the large trawlers in Newfoundland—able to simply source their materials and profits from elsewhere while the local, small-scale fishermen are left with few options for viable employment.
In highlighting the workings of the cycle of abundance and scarcity, Kurlansky suggests that a lack of moderation can eventually ruin the original source of economic prosperity. In this way, Kurlansky reveals not only the detrimental impacts of unregulated economic activity on the natural world, but also on ordinary individuals and small working-class communities.
The Interconnectedness of Trade, Colonialism, and Nationalism
In Cod, Kurlansky uses the cod trade as a lens for exploring the wider issues of international power struggles between nation states. In charting how closely intertwined the sourcing and selling of cod was to the development of imperialistic ventures and conceptions of nationhood, he exposes the interconnectedness of trade, colonialism, and nationalism.
This interconnectedness is first illustrated in Part 1, as the desire for greater resources and increased economic trade became the impetus for colonialism. Many European countries, such as England, France, and Spain, began to explore the globe and claim large swathes of land for themselves. The Europeans were initially motivated by a wish to dominate the trade routes to Asia, where the spice market boomed. Their need to outmaneuver each other in all areas of commercial success—particularly in the cod trade—reflects the expansion of the major European powers during this time, with economic control ensuring greater political power on the international stage. They viewed the success of international trade as an important marker of their national security and pride, which is why England treated the cod market like a weapon of war rather than merely one of profit.
Simultaneously, this combined drive for commercial success and national identity deeply impacted the colonial projects in North America. Kurlansky argues that the cod trade directly caused the New Englanders’ rise to economic power through increased international trade. The more power they had in trade, the more they resented their colonial status and wished for independence. Kurlansky thus suggests that the American Revolution was born, at least partly, out of the middle-class mercantile desire to be free of external taxation and control.
Kurlansky also examines how the natural abundance of cod in Iceland deeply impacted the region’s economic success, just as it did in Newfoundland and New England. The profits from the cod trade led to prosperity, power, and a renewed sense of national identity that inspired Iceland to gain independence from Denmark in 1944. It likewise fueled the animosity between Iceland and England during the “Cod Wars.” For Icelanders, it was not merely an issue of fishing rights, but a threat against their new and fragile sense of national pride.
The growing scarcity of cod also fuels further nationalistic competition. In the cases of the Cornish and Spanish, and the New Englanders and Canadians, depleted fish stocks threaten commercial profit and individual livelihood. Rather than admit their own culpability, each local population blames a foreign group. In acknowledging these modern disputes, Kurlansky suggests that the links between economic activity and nationhood remain as strong as ever.
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