Fleetwood is a town in Lancashire, England, lying at the northern end of the Fylde peninsula but part of the Wyre local authority area. It has a population of around 28,000 people. It is part of the Blackpool conurbation (Greater Blackpool) but outside of the borough boundary.
The town was founded in 1836 by Peter Hesketh Fleetwood, and largely designed by Decimus Burton. It thrived as a seaport and a fishing port, and has more recently been known as a seaside resort.
The fishing industry was largely destroyed in the late 1960s by the Cod Wars—a dispute over fishing rights between Iceland and Britain. As Fleetwood's trawlers mainly fished the North Atlantic in search of cod, the loss of the fishing grounds hit the town hard.
The last deep sea trawler left the town in 1982 and now only inshore fishing boats fish out of the port, although trawlers registered in other places can still be seen taking advantage of the fish market. Fish is still a big industry in the town, though the jobs are mainly in processing rather than fishing.
