Cod

I recently started a book about cod: Cod by Mark Kurlansky. I have learned a lot about this fish from reading the book. I used to think of cod as a fish that was not commercially caught. Now I think of them as a profitable fish. Although there were a few other issues, arguments over cod fishing and shipping rights contributed to the start of the American Revolutionary War and the three Cod Wars between Iceland and the British who were allied with the Germans at the time. Without cod, the settling of the Americas would have been delayed at least a decade.

The book also connects to where we are sailing: in Spanish waters in the area inhabited by the Basque. The Basques are the historical owners of this area of Spain. They live near the ocean and therefore became incredibly good fisherman. Of the many different kinds of fish, cod fit these fishermen's needs in many ways. They are easy to land once hooked, eat most kinds of bait, and are found in large groups. Most people enjoy the flavor of cod. The Basques could use the entire fish. The whole body was edible except for the bones which could be used as hooks or other small tools. Naturally with such useful fish at hand, they became obvious targets.

The crazy part is that the Basques would secretly cross the Atlantic in sailboats every year to what would later become Newfoundland where they would fish for cod. The Basques kept Newfoundland a secret so nobody could figure out where they had caught and dried all the fish. Fish cannot be dried on the deck of a ship so they needed to dry the catch on shore before returning to Spain. Finally other explorers found this territory and announced it to the world.

All the Basque men would leave at the beginning of summer and return in August. They would celebrate the homecoming of the fisherman so there are many festivals in the Basque territory in August. Due to this, we have seen so many different festivals and celebrations. I also have noticed that a lot of people fish in this part of Spain. I have seen many people landing and cleaning small and large fish as if it was a stroll in the park. On our very first night in Spain, near Bilbao, a local was cleaning fish on the dock and gave us enough tuna for a delicious dinner.

Unfortunately, too many cod have been fished out of the ocean. This has dropped the population to endangered levels. I was glad to learn that the cod population is growing, even though it is slower than many people hope. – Porter