Cod fisheries into a "codfish aristocracy". The American settlers rose up against British "tariff on an import, instigated by merchants, including John Hancock and John Rowe, in which the scions of the codfish aristocracy" disguised themselves, boarded their own ships, and disposed of their own goods into the harbor in protest to the tariff, more commonly known as the Boston Tea Party (p. 96). In the 20th century, Iceland re-emerged as a fishing power and entered the Cod Wars to gain control over the north Atlantic seas. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, cod fishing off the coasts of Europe
Murray cod reading of historical newspaper articles and historical government reports reveals that the whole history of wild Murray cod between the mid–1800s and the mid–1900s was one of citizen agitation, government inaction, and ongoing stock decline. For decade after decade, riverside residents, commercial fishermen, recreational fishermen, local fisheries inspectors, fish retailers, and others agitated in newspapers and other fora about the evidently, continuously declining Murray cod stocks, to be met in turn either with government denials, or conversely, with various ineffective inquiries into Murray cod stocks and fisheries, and various ineffective control measures. For decade after decade, debate about excessive fishing