I was 12 when the moratorium was imposed, and though I grew up in the big city (I'm a Torontonian,) I have a lot of family out in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and spent a lot of time back east while I was growing up and, consequently, the moratorium was a big part of my teenage years.

Arms' social history of life in Newfoundland after the moratorium is fascinating. He is thorough in his reasearch, relying not just on the fishermen to provide him information, but the scientists and politicians (however unpopular) as well. In the end, he comes out with a well-rounded view of post-moratorium Newfoundland, its displaced fishermen and those who have adopted a new fishery to support themselves, the general cuisine of the island that relied so heavily on its cod industry and the science behind why the temporary moratorium was still at the book's publication (and remains 15 years on from its imposition) in place.

Overall, an excellent read if you want to know more about Newfoundland at the turn of the new century, the codfishing industry, the people who had and have made a living on the water and/or the science of why, 15 years later, the cod population has failed to recover as the DFO expected it to do within a few years. ( )