Grimsby is strongly linked with the sea fishing industry, which once generated wealth for the town. At its peak in the 1950s, it was the largest and busiest fishing port in the world. As a result of the Cod Wars with Iceland, this industry has been in decline for many years. In 1970 around 400 trawlers were based in the port, by 2013 only 5 trawlers remain based there. By comparison, 15 vessels are used to maintain offshore wind farms in the North Sea. The town still has the largest fish market in the UK, but most of what is sold
Cod fishing in Newfoundland super-trawlers such as the 'Fairtry'; 280 feet long and 2,600 gross tons. The cod catch peaked in 1968 at 810,000 tons, approximately three times more than the maximum yearly catch achieved before the super-trawlers. Approximately 8 million tons of cod were caught between 1647 and 1750, a period encompassing 25 to 40 cod generations. The factory trawlers took the same amount in 15 years. The industry collapsed entirely in the early 1990s owing to overfishing and debatably, greed, lack of foresight and poor local administration. By 1993 six cod populations had collapsed, forcing a belated moratorium on fishing. Spawning biomass