Everything about Fishing totally explained
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For the computer security term, see Phishing.
Fishing is the activity of catching
fish.
Fishing techniques include
netting,
trapping,
angling and
hand gathering.
The term fishing may be applied to catching other
aquatic animals such as different types of
shellfish,
squid,
octopus,
turtles,
frogs, and some edible marine
invertebrates.
Fishing isn't usually applied to catching aquatic mammals such as
whales, where the term "
whaling" is more appropriate, or to commercial
fish farming.
In addition to providing food through harvesting fish, modern fishing is both a recreational and professional sport.
According to
FAO statistics, the total number of fishermen and fish-farmers is estimated to be 38 million.
Fisheries provide direct and indirect employment to an estimated 200 million people
worldwide. The average person on Earth consumes about 14 kg of fish a year.
History
Fishing is an ancient practice that dates back at least to the
Paleolithic period which began about 40,000 years ago. Archaeological features such as
shell middens, discarded fish bones and
cave paintings show that sea foods were important for survival and consumed in significant quantities. During this period, most people lived a hunter-gatherer lifestyle and were, of necessity, constantly on the move. However, where there are early examples of permanent settlements (though not necessarily permanently occupied) such as those at
Lepenski Vir, they're almost always associated with fishing as a major source of food.
The ancient river
Nile was full of fish; fresh and dried fish were a staple food for much of the population. The
Egyptians invented implements and methods for fishing and these are illustrated in tomb scenes, drawings, and papyrus documents. Some representations hint at fishing being pursued as a pastime. In India, the
Pandyas, a classical
Dravidian Tamil kingdom, were known for the pearl fishery as early as the 1st century BC. Their seaport
Tuticorin was known for deep sea
pearl fishing. The
paravas, a Tamil caste centred in Tuticorin, developed a rich community because of their pearl trade, navigation knowledge and fisheries. Fishing scenes are rarely represented in
ancient Greek culture, a reflection of the low social status of fishing. However,
Oppian of Corycus, a Greek author wrote a major treatise on sea fishing, the
Halieulica or
Halieutika, composed between 177 and 180. This is the earliest such work to have survived to the modern day. Pictorial evidence of
Roman fishing comes from
mosaics. The Greco-Roman sea god
Neptune is depicted as wielding a fishing trident. The
Moche people of ancient
Peru depicted fisherman in their ceramics.
One of the world’s longest trading histories is the
trade of dry cod from the
Lofoten area of
Norway to the southern parts of
Europe,
Italy,
Spain and
Portugal. The trade in cod started during the
Viking period or before, has been going on for more than 1000 years and is still important.
Traditional fishing
Traditional fishing is a term used to describe small scale
commercial or
subsistence fishing practises, using traditional techniques such as rod and tackle, arrows and harpoons, throw nets and drag nets, etc.
Techniques
There are many techniques for fishing. Fishermen may use hooks and
fishing line.
Fishing nets, fish traps, and trap nets may be used to capture fish. Lobster and crab pots use a similar method. Hand fishing consists of fishing with the hands or through the use of minimal equipment. In
spear fishing, the fish is killed using an ordinary spear or a specialized variant thereof. Closely related to spear fishing is
bow fishing. Trained animals can assist in fishing; one notable example is Asian
cormorant fishing.
Kite fishing allows the fisherman to cast far into the water, even without a boat. Dredging is sometimes used to collect scallops or oysters from the seabed. Poisonous plants can be used to stun fish so that they become easy to collect by hand; cyanide is also sometimes used for fishing. Other fishing techniques include electrofishing and
dynamite fishing. Some techniques are
bottom trawling,
seining,
driftnetting,
handlining,
longlining,
gillnetting,
dragging,
tiling, and
diving.
Tackle
Fishing tackle refers to the equipment and gear used by
commercial,
subsistence and
sport fisherman.
Recreational fishing
Recreational and sport fishing describe fishing for pleasure or competition. Recreational fishing has conventions, rules, licensing restrictions and laws that limit the way in which fish may be caught; typically, these prohibit the use of nets and the catching of fish with hooks not in the mouth. The most common form of recreational fishing is done with a
rod,
reel,
line,
hooks and any one of a wide range of
baits. The practice of catching or attempting to catch fish with a hook is known as
angling. In angling, it's sometimes expected or required that fish be returned to the water (
catch and release). Recreational or sport fishermen may log their catches or participate in fishing competitions.
Big-game fishing describes fishing from boats to catch large open-water species such as
tuna,
sharks and
marlin. Sport fishing (sometimes game fishing) describes recreational fishing where the primary reward is the challenge of finding and catching the fish rather than the culinary or financial value of the fish's flesh. Fish sought after include marlin, tuna, tarpon, sailfish, shark and mackerel.
The fishing industry
Commercial fishing
Commercial fishing catches fish for eating. Those who practice it must often pursue fish far into the ocean under adverse conditions. Commercial fishermen harvest almost all aquatic species, from
tuna,
cod and
salmon to
shrimp,
krill,
lobster,
clams,
squid and
crab, in various
fisheries for these species. Commercial fishing methods have become very efficient using large nets and
sea-going processing factories.
Individual fishing quotas) and international treaties seek to control the species and quantities caught.
A commercial fishing enterprise may vary from one man with a small
boat with hand-casting nets or a few pot traps, to a huge fleet of trawlers processing tons of fish every day.
Commercial fishing gear includes
nets (for example purse
seine), seine nets (for example
beach seine),
trawls (for example
bottom trawl), dredges,
hooks and lines (for example
long line and
handline), lift nets,
gillnets, entangling nets and
traps.
According to the
Food and Agriculture Organization of the
United Nations, total world capture fisheries production in 2000 was 86 million tons (FAO 2002). The top producing countries were, in order, the
People's Republic of China (excluding
Hong Kong and
Taiwan),
Peru,
Japan, the
United States,
Chile,
Indonesia,
Russia,
India,
Thailand,
Norway and
Iceland. Those countries accounted for more than half of the world's production; China alone accounted for a third of the world's production. Of that production, over 90% was marine and less than 10% was inland.
A small number of species support the majority of the world’s fisheries. Some of these species are
herring,
cod,
anchovy,
tuna,
flounder,
mullet,
squid,
shrimp,
salmon,
crab,
lobster,
oyster and
scallops. All except these last four provided a worldwide catch of well over a
million tonnes in 1999, with
herring and
sardines together providing a catch of over 22 million metric tons in 1999. Many other species as well are fished in smaller numbers.
Fish farms
Fish products
Today, fisheries are estimated to provide 16% of the world population's
protein, and that figure is considerably elevated in some
developing nations and in regions that depend heavily on the sea. The flesh of many fish are primarily valued as a source of food; there are many
edible species of fish. Other marine life taken as food includes
shellfish,
crustaceans,
sea cucumber, and
jellyfish.
Roe are also harvested.
Fish may also be collected live for research observation or for the
aquarium trade.
Fish and other marine life have uses apart from food.
Pearls and
mother-of-pearl are valued for their lustre. Traditional methods of
pearl hunting are now virtually extinct.
Sharkskin and
rayskin which are covered with, in effect, tiny teeth (dermal denticles) were used for sandpaper. These skins are also used to make
leather. Sharkskin leather is used in the manufacture of the hilts of
traditional Japanese swords.
Sea horse,
star fish,
sea urchin and
sea cucumber are used in
traditional Chinese medicine.
Tyrian purple is a pigment made from marine snails
Murex brandaris and
Murex trunculus.
Sepia is a pigment made from the inky secretions of
cuttlefish.
Fish glue is made by boiling the skin, bones and
swim bladders of fish. Fish glue has been valued for its use in products from
illuminated manuscripts to the
Mongolian war bow.
Isinglass is a substance obtained from the swim bladders of fish (especially
sturgeon), it's used for the clarification of
wine and
beer.
Fish emulsion is a
fertilizer emulsion that's produced from the fluid remains of fish processed for
fish oil and
fish meal.
Fish product sales
Sustainability
Environmental issues include the availability of fish to be caught, such as
overfishing,
sustainable fisheries, and
fisheries management; and issues surrounding the impact of fishing on the environment, such as
by-catch. Scientific studies have questioned the sustainability of current fishing practices.
Fisheries management, which draws on
fisheries science, aims to provide for sustainable exploitation of fisheries.
Cultural impact
For communities, fisheries provide not only a source of food and work but also a
community and
cultural identity.
In the
New Testament,
Jesus is reported to have said to his disciples:
Follow me, and I'll make you fishers of men. Matthew 4:19
.
The expression "fishing expedition" (usually used to describe a line of questioning), describes a case where the questioner implies that he knows more than he actually does in order to trick the target into divulging more information than he wishes to reveal. Other examples of fishing terms that carry a negative connotation are: "fishing for compliments", "to be fooled
hook, line and sinker" (to be fooled beyond merely "taking the bait"), and the internet scam of
Phishing in which a third party will duplicate a website where the user would put sensitive information (such as bank codes).
Further Information
Get more info on 'Fishing'.
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