Fleetwood and as transport became more efficient, more overnight visitors became day visitors. The Hillhouse plant was heavily cut back, and was finally closed in 1999. Most serious, however, was the collapse of the fishing industry, which was largely destroyed in the late 1960s and early 1970s by the Cod Wars, a dispute over fishing rights between Iceland and the UK. As Fleetwood's trawlers mainly fished the North Atlantic in search of cod, the loss of the fishing grounds hit the town hard. The last deep sea trawler left the town in 1982 and now only inshore fishing boats fish out
Fishing industry in England Fishing industry in England The fishing industry in England covers the fish processing industry and fishing trawler companies that fish around England. Important English seafishing ports include: The fishing industry in England was once much larger than it is today. As a response to declining stocks Common Fisheries Policy imposed quotas on the amount of catch than can be brought ashore this prevented a collapse in the industry and Cod has since been reclassified as sustainable Updated statistics from the UK's Marine Management Organisation on the UK fishing sector show that UK vessels landed 724 thousand tonnes of sea fish