Portugal: Cod Fishing

Cod on stamp

Cod, so popular with the Portuguese, was first fished for during the 15th century, when the Portuguese navigators reached the Grand Banks at the island of Newfoundland.
Abundant and easily preserved in salt it was the cause of numerous ship expeditions from the 15th century to the last quarter of the 20th century.

Cod fishing is a way of life

There were years of plenty and years of crisis for the fishermen aboard their flat bottomed boats.
Everyone helped with cod preparation: cutting it up by gutting it, chopping the head off and splitting the fish, thus giving it its characteristic flattened look and preserving it with salt.
Lives were lost every year, when ships sank. Cod fishing left it's mark on whole regions. It was a way of life.