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This article is written like a personal reflection, personal essay, or argumentative essay that states a Wikipedia editor’s personal feelings or presents an original argument about a topic. The neutrality of this article is disputed. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. The Atlantic fishery abruptly collapsed in 1993, following overfishing since the late-1950s, and an earlier partial collapse in the 1970s. It is expected to recover to historical, sustainable levels by 2030. The trawlers also caught enormous amounts of non-commercial fish, which were economically unimportant but very important ecologically.

This incidental catch undermined the stability of the ecosystem by depleting stocks of important predator and prey species. A significant factor contributing to the depletion of the cod stocks off the shores of Newfoundland included the introduction and proliferation of equipment and technology that increased the volume of landed fish. For centuries, local fishers used technology that limited the volume of their catch, the area they fished, and let them target specific species and ages of fish. The new technologies adversely affected the northern cod population by both increasing the area and depth that was fished. The cod were being depleted until the surviving fish could not replenish the stock lost each year. The trawlers caught enormous amounts of non-commercial fish, which were very important ecologically. In addition to ecological considerations, decisions regarding the future of the fisheries were also influenced by social and economic factors.

Throughout Atlantic Canada, but especially in Newfoundland, the cod fishery was a source of social and cultural identity. The department mismanaged the resource and allowed overfishing. In 1969 the number of fishing trawlers increased, and coastal fishermen complained to the government. In 1968 the cod catch peaked at 810,000 tons, approximately three times more than the maximum yearly catch achieved before the super-trawlers. The factory trawlers took the same amount in 15 years. The government wanted to reverse declining fish stocks by removing foreign fishing within the new inshore fishery boundaries. Many local fishers noticed the drastic decrease of cod and tried to inform local government officials.

It must be recognised that both the Federal and Provincial Governments, plant workers, and the private sector, which includes fishermen, all have a role to play at influencing and directing the course of development within the fisheries sector. In 1986, scientists reviewed calculations and data, after which they determined, to conserve cod fishing, the total allowable catch rate had to be cut in half. However, even with these new statistics brought to light, no changes were made in the allotted yearly catch of cod. In the early-1990s, the industry collapsed entirely. In 1992, John Crosbie, the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, set the quota for cod at 187,969 tonnes, even though only 129,033 tonnes had been caught the previous year.