Instrument of mass destruction

Birdseye had a fishplant in Hr Grace Newfoundland, it had about 1100 employees. They planned to build a fleet of fishing trawlers, but first they needed crew and officers to man this fleet. They purchased a training vessel from Germany, And named it the Newfoundland trainer, it came with German officers to facilitate the training. The captain a long time seaman and antartic whaling captain from Cuxhaven.
The training would start with 6 months training at the Fisheries College in St. John's, and six months at sea actually fishing,and training with the new german fishing trawl.
The project was a joint one the newfoundland goverment would pay for accommodations and tuition, and Birdseye and the government shared all other expenses.
The first six month term was basics, seamanship, navigation, rope and cable splicing, etc.
The first six months at sea was another matter. sea sickness is a terrible malady,semi circle canals gets knocked out of wack, and life becomes a living hell, the stomach rejects everything, fatigue, you just want to lie down and die. There is work to be done, the net comes back 24-7, every 3 and one half hours, the fish gutted put on ice. This in the beginning is like a slave ship, The net many times damaged , has to be repaired, while the spare net is put out. Before the net is repaired and the fish put away the net is on its way back. There is no watch, 24 --36 hours without a wink of sleep is not uncommon.
Let there be no mistake,or misunderstanding, the fishing trawler, with bottom towing trawl was an instrument of mass destruction. The trawl consisted of two 2800 lb doors, steel covered wood ,with thick bottom skids, they were angled,to drag along the bottom and spread the net. between the doors-and further back the net wings were 13 bobbins, huge steel 80 lb balls with a hole  thru the center, to accommodate a cable, keeping the net down and rolling along the bottom, the top entrance to the net, has many floats attached to keep the net wide open.
The delicate ecosystem on the continental shelf was torn to pieces by hundreds if not thousands of trawlers from all over the world dragging 24-7.
The warm gulf stream coming up the eastern seaboard, collides with the cold Labrador current, on the grand banks. There is a tremendous upheaval of currents, plankton thrives, the food cycle began.
The early explorers boats they say were often slowed by the huge shoals of cod, a weighted basket could be lower over the side and retrieved full of cod.
Then it began the cod fishery, the cod trap a huge square net with floats around the top,weights at the bottom, A long leader went to seaward, guiding the cod to two doors,once inside they kept circling, this of course in very shoal water. The cod was cleaned deboned, salted, air drieded. and sold in Quintals, 112lbs. Long lines of baited hooks,as well as hand lining from boats was used.
This system work well for hundreds of years, with no damage to the stocks of cod or the ecosystem.
The cod fish was in big demand world wide, a better way to mass catch them was needed, enter the fishing  trawler, greed took over no regard to the stocks or environment was given,it was only a matter of time and the grand banks would be raked clean.
I entered the industry in the last days and saw first hand the destruction, An average good trip 10 days at sea 200,000 lbs, now and then 300,000 lbs, we eventually have 5 trawlers supplying our fish plant of 1100 workers.
The untold story, the plant only wanted cod, every time the net came in we threw the by catch overboard,flounder, rose-fish,catfish,millions of pounds of perfectly good fish every year, an incomprehensible waste of a perfectly good resource.
Every man jack from the premier down knew the end was coming, but like a freight train out of control nothing was done, political suicide for anyone to suggest any changes.
How we knew the end was coming besides reduced catches, cod was sold to the US in 100 pound cod blocks,the exact figures are for gotten, but say in the beginning it took 50 cod to make the 100 pounds in the last days it took 100. It most likely will never fully recover, have we learned ??most likely not./