French cod fisheries from the sixteenth to the middle of the twentieth century

French cod fishing began in the sixteenth century and was very im portant economically. The abundance of cod brought about trem endous development in the cod fishery, especially around Newfoundland. Many factors - some negative, some positive - including wars and natural fluctuations in climate have had an impact on the fishery. Using records and published works, an attem pt is m ade to estimate the fishing effort of France between 1500 and 1950.