Fishing has been an important source of employment for thousands of years. However, fishing is also a popular recreational practice and a professional sport. Fishing has its origins in the Palaeolithic period when seafood was important for survival and consumed in large quantities. Fishing methods currently in use evolved during Neolithic times.
The Egyptians, Indians, Romans, Greeks, Chinese and Peruvians were among the first cultures that embraced the practise of fishing in ancient times. In fact, the fish trade from the Lofoten islands near Norway to southern parts of Europe is thought to be more than a thousand years old and is still flourishing today.
Hand fishing, spear fishing, bow fishing, kite fishing, dredging, “electrofishing”, dynamite fishing, bottom trawling, seining, drift netting, hand lining, long lining, gillnetting, dragging, tiling, and diving are various techniques used for fishing. Many conventions and rules, licensing restrictions and laws have been put in place for recreational fishing. Angling is the method of catching fish using a hook. Fishermen use hooks, fishing lines, fishing nets, fish traps and trap nets for fishing. Fishing tackle refers to the main equipment used by all types of fishermen. Fishermen catch fish for commercial reasons, for subsistence and for sport.
Many countries across the world procure a large quantity of food from commercial fishing. Large nets and seafood processing factories have made commercial fishing more efficient. The fishing technology, the species being fished, and the region itself all contribute to determining the fishing methods required. Commercial fishing gear today includes surrounding nets, seine nets, trawls, dredges, hooks and lines, lift nets, gillnets, entangling nets and traps, etc.
Fishing may also be carried out for research purposes or to sell the fish on to exhibit in aquariums. Leather made from sharkskin and ray skins has been used in the manufacture of hilts of traditional Japanese swords. Traditional Chinese medicine is known to include marine life such as starfish, sea horses, sea urchins and sea cucumbers. Pigments are often made from various marine creatures. These include marine snails such as “Murex brandaris” and “Murex trunculus” that are used to make the pigment known as “tyrian purple”. Cuttlefish are used to make the colour sepia, while fish glue is applied in a wide variety of products. Isinglass is used for the clarification of wine and beer, while fish emulsion is used as a fertilizer emulsion.
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