>>214301483
>>mysteriously had a fishing industry before and after the famine.
The reason coastal fishing villages couldn't relay on fish is because EVERY peasant relied on potatoes and when the crop failed, the fishermen sold their boats and equipment to pay rent until they thought they could buy it back in the next season when the potato crop would return.
It didn't, and the landlords and merchants just said fuck you, they refused to help ease the situation. It was essentially serfdom
Also it was (and still is) unlawful to poach fish on private land so no one could fish inland