BOSTON WAS BUILT ON FISH AND ON THE SHOULDERS OF GROUNDFISHERMEN.

For over four centuries, cod shaped the city’s economy, identity, and connection to the wider world. From Indigenous fishing knowledge to a global trade that helped fuel a revolution, from industrial abundance to the decline of local stocks, this is a story of growth, dependence, and consequence, sustained by generations of working families.

Built on Cod traces this arc across past and present, revealing how a single species came to define a region, sustain livelihoods, and anchor a working waterfront that continues to adapt to new environmental and economic realities.

At its center are the people behind the fishery: fishermen, processors, distributors, and researchers whose lives and work have shaped, and continue to shape, Boston’s maritime culture. Their stories reflect pride, resilience, and a longstanding family heritage tied to the sea, even as the industry has faced profound change.

Spanning generations, the exhibition charts the rise of the cod fishery, the pressures it has faced, and its transformation within today’s global seafood system, revealing both the scale of the industry and the human stories embedded within it. Even now, thousands of pounds of fish move through the Boston Fish Pier each day, largely unseen by the city around it.

Boston’s fishing industry remains foundational, yet often overlooked. Today, much of the cod consumed in the United States is imported, and the local fishery that once sustained the city continues to rebuild and evolve.

Where does your fish come from now, and who are the people behind it?