Introduction The Newfoundland and Labrador fisheries may begin to be dated to a period not too distant from the Age of Discovery years, about five centuries ago, and from this period has played an important role in the economic and socio-cultural structure of Atlantic Canada. Among the different species, northern cod represented a major source of food for both the populations of Atlantic Canada and Eastern European countries such as Spain, Portugal, France and mainly England (Higgins, Lifestyle of Fishers, 1600-1900, 2008). Over the years, as the world has evolved, fishing methods have also improved and, especially since the 20th century, several changes have dictated the way fishing was practiced in the North Atlantic. As the world's population increased rapidly, the demand for cod grew enormously. New technologies were introduced and thus northern cod catch rates began to exceed the dangerous limits of the stock's recovery capacity. This fact, added to another that will be shown below, led to the collapse of cod in Atlantic Canada in the 1990s. Main analysis Analysis of cod stocks showed that until the 1960s landings of fish had never exceeded 300 tonnes, however by this time more and more foreign fleets were starting to arrive in the Northwest Atlantic area to catch the cod. According to Higgins (2009), one of the reasons for this strong growth in landings is the rapid evolution of fishing technology. The astonishing growth of refrigerated trawlers, which could remain at sea for months while storing hundreds of tonnes of fish on board, is an example of this evolution in fishing. In 1968, a historic catch records that 810 tons of cod were landed, more than double the amount in the early 1960s. Atlases......middle of paper.......htmGreenpeace. (2008, May 8). The collapse of the Canadian Newfoundland cod fishery. Retrieved June 17, 2014, from Greenpeace International Home: http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/oceans/seafood/understanding-the-problem/overfishing-history/cod-fishery-canadian/Higgins, J ( 2009). Cod moratorium. Retrieved June 16, 2014, from Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage: http://www.heritage.nf.ca/society/moratorium.htmlHiggins, J. (2008). Fishermen's lifestyle, 1600-1900. Retrieved June 14, 2014, from Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage: http://www.heritage.nf.ca/society/fishers_lifestyle.htmlParliament of Canada. (n.d.). Northern cod: a failure in Canadian fisheries management. Retrieved June 17, 2014, from the Parliament of Canada: http://www.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?DocId=2144982&Mode=1&Parl=38&Ses=1&Language=E&File=21