Salt of the Sea: The Pacific Coast Cod Fishery and the Last Days of Sail

William A. Waiser is a professor of history at the University of
Saskatchewan. He is the author of Saskatchewan’s Playground: A History
of Prince Albert National Park and Park Prisoners: The Untold Story of
Western Canada’s National Parks, 1915–1946

The waters of the upper Pacific Northwest are often identified with the
Russian sea otter trade or the American steam whaling fishery. But there
was also a vibrant cod fishery in the Bering sea region that lasted
nearly a century—from the 1860s to 1950.

Ed Shields, the son of a major player in the salt codfish industry and
a former fisherman himself, has documented the history of the Pacific
Coast cod fishery in Salt of the Sea. It’s an engaging, informative
story that only someone closely associated with the industry could tell.
And tell he does in a simple, though masterful, way. The reader learns
how the schooners were prepared for the trip north, how the months on
the fishing grounds were spent, and what was done during the winter. Few
details are left out.

The other wonderful feature of Salt of the Sea is the black-and-white
photographs—many reproduced to full-page size. The pictures not only
illustrate many of the things that Shields talks about in the text, but
put a human face on the story. There are candid photos of captains and
crew members and the various duties they performed while on the fishing
grounds (such as hook-and-lining for cod) or in the harbor (preparing
for the next season). There are also marvelous shots of the schooners
that made up the Pacific codfish fleet. Indeed, the book is a visual
treat.

The Pacific salt cod industry may have been dead for half a century,
but it lives on in the pages of this fine book.