Norfish Spanish and Basque Newfoundland Cod Fishery 1520-1790

The Spanish data for fishing in Newfoundland in this time period are sparse and severely limited; and quantitative sources are especially rare. Numerous qualitative reports are available based on contemporary observations and reports of fishing undertaken by Spanish fishing crews, as well as several estimates of the scale of this activity made by contemporary observers. Many of these historic estimates and data of fishing in the New World by Spaniards are not presentations of national data but pertain to the fishing effort of sub-national regions: Galicia, Cantabria, Asturias, and in particular the Spanish Basque country, from which the majority of Spanish fishing ventures departed.