Norfish Scottish Cod Fishery 1468–179

The Scottish Cod Fishery was focused largely in the North Sea along the eastern Scottish coastline, but included some activity along the western coast of Scotland into the Atlantic and the northern parts of the Irish Sea. The overall effort was small in scale compared with the huge industrial activities of the French and English cod fishers who, while highly active in Newfoundland and off the Grand Banks from c.1500 onwards, were also engaged in the North Sea and beyond to Iceland and the Norwegian Sea. Nevertheless, cod fishing accounted for a large proportion of Scotland’s fishing effort which severally included herring and salmon as major species for extraction, and a host of other species in lesser numbers.