Fishing is the activity of trying to catch
fish
Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of ...
. Fish are often caught as
wildlife
Wildlife refers to undomesticated animal species, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wild in an area without being introduced by humans. Wildlife was also synonymous to game: those birds and mammals that were hunted ...
from the
natural environment
The natural environment or natural world encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally, meaning in this case not artificial. The term is most often applied to the Earth or some parts of Earth. This environment encompasses ...
, but may also be caught from
stocked bodies of water such as
pond
A pond is an area filled with water, either natural or artificial, that is smaller than a lake. Defining them to be less than in area, less than deep, and with less than 30% emergent vegetation helps in distinguishing their ecology from ...
s,
canal
Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flo ...
s,
park wetland
A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The p ...
s and
reservoir
A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation.
Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...
s.
Fishing techniques
Fishing techniques are methods for catching fish. The term may also be applied to methods for catching other aquatic animals such as molluscs (shellfish, squid, octopus) and edible marine invertebrates.
Fishing techniques include hand-gatherin ...
include
hand-gathering,
spearing,
netting,
angling
Angling is a fishing technique that uses a fish hook or "angle" (from Old English ''angol'') attached to a fishing line to tether individual fish in the mouth. The fishing line is usually manipulated via a fishing rod, although rodless techni ...
,
shooting
Shooting is the act or process of discharging a projectile from a ranged weapon (such as a gun, bow, crossbow, slingshot, or blowpipe). Even the acts of launching flame, artillery, darts, harpoons, grenades, rockets, and guided missiles ...
and
trapping
Animal trapping, or simply trapping or gin, is the use of a device to remotely catch an animal. Animals may be trapped for a variety of purposes, including food, the fur trade, hunting, pest control, and wildlife management.
History
Neolithi ...
, as well as
more destructive and often
illegal
Illegal, or unlawful, typically describes something that is explicitly prohibited by law, or is otherwise forbidden by a state or other governing body.
Illegal may also refer to:
Law
* Violation of law
* Crime, the practice of breaking the ...
techniques such as
electrocution
Electrocution is death or severe injury caused by electric shock from electric current passing through the body. The word is derived from "electro" and "execution", but it is also used for accidental death.
The term "electrocution" was coine ...
,
blasting and
poisoning
A poison can be any substance that is harmful to the body. It can be swallowed, inhaled, injected or absorbed through the skin. Poisoning is the harmful effect that occurs when too much of that substance has been taken. Poisoning is not to ...
.
The term fishing broadly includes catching
aquatic animal
An aquatic animal is any animal, whether invertebrate or vertebrate, that lives in water for most or all of its lifetime. Many insects such as mosquitoes, mayflies, dragonflies and caddisflies have aquatic larvae, with winged adults. Aquatic ani ...
s other than fish, such as
crustacean
Crustaceans (Crustacea, ) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as decapods, seed shrimp, branchiopods, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopods, barnacles, copepods, amphipods and mantis shrimp. The crustacean group can ...
s (
shrimp/
lobsters/
crabs),
shellfish,
cephalopods (
octopus/
squid) and
echinoderm
An echinoderm () is any member of the phylum Echinodermata (). The adults are recognisable by their (usually five-point) radial symmetry, and include starfish, brittle stars, sea urchins, sand dollars, and sea cucumbers, as well as the s ...
s (
starfish/
sea urchins). The term is not normally applied to harvesting fish raised in
controlled cultivations (
fish farming). Nor is it normally applied to hunting
aquatic mammal
Aquatic and semiaquatic mammals are a diverse group of mammals that dwell partly or entirely in bodies of water. They include the various marine mammals who dwell in oceans, as well as various freshwater species, such as the European otter. The ...
s, where terms like
whaling
Whaling is the process of hunting of whales for their usable products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that became increasingly important in the Industrial Revolution.
It was practiced as an organized industr ...
and
sealing are used instead.
Fishing has been an important part of
human culture
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tylo ...
since
hunter-gatherer times, and is one of the few
food production
The food industry is a complex, global network of diverse businesses that supplies most of the food consumed by the world's population. The food industry today has become highly diversified, with manufacturing ranging from small, traditiona ...
activities that have persisted from
prehistory
Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use ...
into
modern age, surviving both the
Neolithic Revolution and
successive Industrial Revolutions. In addition to being caught to be
eaten for food, fish are caught as
recreational pastimes.
Fishing tournaments are held, and caught fish are sometimes kept long-term as
preserved or
living
Living or The Living may refer to:
Common meanings
*Life, a condition that distinguishes organisms from inorganic objects and dead organisms
** Living species, one that is not extinct
*Personal life, the course of an individual human's life
* ...
trophies
A trophy is a tangible, durable reminder of a specific achievement, and serves as a recognition or evidence of merit. Trophies are often awarded for sporting events, from youth sports to professional level athletics. In many sports medals (or, i ...
. When
bioblitz
A BioBlitz, also written without capitals as bioblitz, is an intense period of biological surveying in an attempt to record all the living species within a designated area. Groups of scientists, naturalists and volunteers conduct an intensive f ...
es occur, fish are typically
caught, identified, and then released.
According to the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...
FAO
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...
statistics, the total number of
commercial fishers and
fish farmers is estimated to be 38 million.
Fishing industries and
aquaculture provide direct and indirect
employment to over 500 million people in
developing countries
A developing country is a sovereign state with a lesser developed industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to other countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. There is also no clear agreem ...
. In 2005, the worldwide ''per capita'' consumption of fish captured from
wild fisheries
A wild fishery is a natural body of water with a sizeable free-ranging fish or other aquatic animal (crustaceans and molluscs) population that can be harvested for its commercial value. Wild fisheries can be marine ( saltwater) or lacustrine/r ...
was , with an additional harvested from fish farms.
History
![Metkrok av ben från stenåldern, funnen i Skåne](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/Metkrok_av_ben_fr%C3%A5n_sten%C3%A5ldern%2C_funnen_i_Sk%C3%A5ne.flip.jpg)
Fishing is an ancient practise that dates back to at least the beginning of the Upper
Paleolithic period about 40,000 years ago.
Isotopic analysis of the remains of
Tianyuan man, a 40,000-year-old modern human from eastern Asia, has shown that he regularly consumed freshwater fish.
Archaeology
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landsca ...
features such as
shell middens, discarded fish bones, and
cave paintings show that sea foods were important for survival and consumed in significant quantities. Fishing in Africa is evident very early on in human history.
Neanderthal
Neanderthals (, also ''Homo neanderthalensis'' and erroneously ''Homo sapiens neanderthalensis''), also written as Neandertals, are an extinct species or subspecies of archaic humans who lived in Eurasia until about 40,000 years ago. While the ...
s were fishing by about 200,000 BC. People could have developed basketry for fish traps, and spinning and early forms of knitting in order to make fishing nets to be able to catch more fish in larger 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
Lepenski Vir ( sr-cyr, Лепенски Вир, "Lepena Whirlpool"), located in Serbia, is an important archaeological site of the Mesolithic Iron Gates culture of the Balkans. The latest radiocarbon and AMS data suggests that the chronology of ...
, they are almost always associated with fishing as a major source of food.
Trawling
The British
dogger was a very early type of sailing
trawler from the 17th century, but the modern fishing trawler was developed in the 19th century, at the English fishing port of
Brixham. By the early 19th century, the fishers at Brixham needed to expand their fishing area further than ever before due to the ongoing depletion of stocks that was occurring in the
overfished
Overfishing is the removal of a species of fish (i.e. fishing) from a body of water at a rate greater than that the species can replenish its population naturally (i.e. the overexploitation of the fishery's existing fish stock), resulting in t ...
waters of
South Devon
South Devon is the southern part of Devon, England. Because Devon has its major population centres on its two coasts, the county is divided informally into North Devon and South Devon.For exampleNorth DevonanSouth Devonnews sites. In a narrower se ...
. The
Brixham trawler that evolved there was of a sleek build and had a tall
gaff rig
Gaff rig is a sailing rig (configuration of sails, mast and stays) in which the sail is four-cornered, fore-and-aft rigged, controlled at its peak and, usually, its entire head by a spar (pole) called the ''gaff''. Because of the size and shap ...
, which gave the vessel sufficient speed to make long-distance trips out to the fishing grounds in the ocean. They were also sufficiently robust to be able to tow large trawls in deep water. The great trawling fleet that built up at Brixham earned the village the title of 'Mother of Deep-Sea Fisheries'.
![A Brixham trawler](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/A_Brixham_trawler.jpg)
This revolutionary design made large scale trawling in the ocean possible for the first time, resulting in a massive migration of fishers from the ports in the South of England, to villages further north, such as
Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to:
People
* Scarborough (surname)
* Earl of Scarbrough
Places Australia
* Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth
* Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong
* Scarborough, Queensland, su ...
,
Hull,
Grimsby
Grimsby or Great Grimsby is a port town and the administrative centre of North East Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire, England. Grimsby adjoins the town of Cleethorpes directly to the south-east forming a conurbation. Grimsby is north-east of L ...
,
Harwich and
Yarmouth, that were points of access to the large fishing grounds in the Atlantic Ocean.
The small village of
Grimsby
Grimsby or Great Grimsby is a port town and the administrative centre of North East Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire, England. Grimsby adjoins the town of Cleethorpes directly to the south-east forming a conurbation. Grimsby is north-east of L ...
grew to become the largest fishing port in the world by the mid 19th century. An
Act of Parliament
Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...
was first obtained in 1796, which authorised the construction of new quays and dredging of the Haven to make it deeper.
It was only in 1846, with the tremendous expansion in the
fishing industry
The fishing industry includes any industry or activity concerned with taking, culturing, processing, preserving, storing, transporting, marketing or selling fish or fish products. It is defined by the Food and Agriculture Organization as including ...
, that the
Grimsby Dock Company was formed. The foundation stone for the Royal Dock was laid by
Albert
Albert may refer to:
Companies
* Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic
* Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands
* Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia
* Albert Productions, a record label
* Alber ...
the
Prince consort in 1849. The dock covered and was formally opened by
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...
in 1854 as the first modern fishing port.
The elegant
Brixham trawler spread across the world, influencing fishing fleets everywhere. By the end of the 19th century, there were over 3,000 fishing trawlers in commission in Britain, with almost 1,000 at Grimsby. These trawlers were sold to fishers around Europe, including from the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
and
Scandinavia
Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...
. Twelve trawlers went on to form the nucleus of the German fishing fleet.
The earliest steam-powered fishing boats first appeared in the 1870s and used the
trawl
Trawling is a method of fishing that involves pulling a fishing net through the water behind one or more boats. The net used for trawling is called a trawl. This principle requires netting bags which are towed through water to catch different speci ...
system of fishing as well as lines and drift nets. These were large boats, usually in length with a beam of around . They weighed 40–50 tons and travelled at . The earliest purpose-built fishing vessels were designed and made by David Allan in
Leith
Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by ''Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world.
The earliest ...
, Scotland in March 1875, when he converted a drifter to steam power. In 1877, he built the first
screw propelled steam trawler in the world.
Steam trawlers were introduced at
Grimsby
Grimsby or Great Grimsby is a port town and the administrative centre of North East Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire, England. Grimsby adjoins the town of Cleethorpes directly to the south-east forming a conurbation. Grimsby is north-east of L ...
and
Hull in the 1880s. In 1890 it was estimated that there were 20,000 men on the North Sea. The steam drifter was not used in the herring fishery until 1897. The last sailing fishing trawler was built in 1925 in Grimsby. Trawler designs adapted as the way they were powered changed from sail to coal-fired steam by
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
to
diesel and
turbines
A turbine ( or ) (from the Greek , ''tyrbē'', or Latin ''turbo'', meaning vortex) is a rotary mechanical device that extracts energy from a fluid flow and converts it into useful Work (physics), work. The work produced by a turbine can be used ...
by the end of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
.
In 1931, the first powered drum was created by Laurie Jarelainen. The drum was a circular device that was set to the side of the boat and would draw in the nets. Since
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
,
radio navigation aids and
fish finders have been widely used. The first trawlers fished over the side, rather than over the
stern. The first purpose-built stern trawler was ''Fairtry'' built-in 1953 at
Aberdeen
Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...
, Scotland. The ship was much larger than any other trawlers then in operation and inaugurated the era of the 'super trawler'. As the ship pulled its nets over the stern, it could lift out a much greater haul of up to 60 tons.
The ship served as a basis for the expansion of 'super trawlers' around the world in the following decades.
Recreational fishing
![Louis John Rhead - Izaak Wolton and his scholar](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9d/Louis_John_Rhead_-_Izaak_Wolton_and_his_scholar.jpg)
The early evolution of fishing as recreation is not clear. For example, there is anecdotal evidence for
fly fishing in Japan, however, fly fishing was likely to have been a means of survival, rather than recreation. The earliest English essay on recreational fishing was published in 1496, by
Dame Juliana Berners, the prioress of the Benedictine
Sopwell Nunnery
Sopwell Priory (also known as Sopwell Nunnery) was a Benedictine nunnery founded around 1140 on the site of an ancient hermitage in Sopwell, Hertfordshire, England. After the Dissolution, the priory was torn down and a Tudor manor house constructe ...
. The essay was titled ''Treatyse of Fysshynge wyth an Angle'', and included detailed information on fishing waters, the construction of
rods and lines, and the use of natural baits and artificial flies.
Recreational fishing took a great leap forward after the
English Civil War
The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...
, where a newly found interest in the activity left its mark on the many books and treatises that were written on the subject at the time.
Leonard Mascall in 1589 wrote ''A booke of Fishing with Hooke and Line'' along with many others he produced in his life on game and wildlife in England at the time. ''
The Compleat Angler
''The Compleat Angler'' (the spelling is sometimes modernised to ''The Complete Angler'', though this spelling also occurs in first editions) is a book by Izaak Walton. It was first published in 1653 by Richard Marriot in London.
Walton continu ...
'' was written by
Izaak Walton in 1653 (although Walton continued to add to it for a quarter of a century) and described the fishing in the
Derbyshire
Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...
Wye. It was a celebration of the art and spirit of fishing in prose and verse. A second part to the book was added by Walton's friend
Charles Cotton.
Charles Kirby designed an improved fishing hook in 1655 that remains relatively unchanged to this day. He went on to invent the Kirby bend, a distinctive hook with an offset point, still commonly used today.
The 18th century was mainly an era of consolidation of the techniques developed in the previous century. Running rings began to appear along the fishing rods, which gave anglers greater control over the cast line. The rods themselves were also becoming increasingly sophisticated and specialised for different roles. Jointed rods became common from the middle of the century and
bamboo
Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, ...
came to be used for the top section of the rod, giving it a much greater strength and flexibility.
The industry also became commercialised – rods and tackle were sold at the
haberdashers store. After the
Great Fire of London in 1666, artisans moved to
Redditch
Redditch is a town, and local government district, in north-east Worcestershire, England, approximately south of Birmingham. The district has a population of 85,000 as of 2019. In the 19th century, it became the international centre for the ...
which became a centre of production of fishing related products from the 1730s. Onesimus Ustonson established his shop in 1761, and his establishment remained as a market leader for the next century. He received a
Royal Warrant from three successive monarchs starting with King
George IV
George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten y ...
. He also invented the
multiplying winch. The commercialization of the industry came at a time of expanded interest in fishing as a recreational hobby for members of the
aristocracy.
The impact of the
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
was first felt in the manufacture of fly lines. Instead of anglers twisting their lines – a laborious and time-consuming process – the new textile spinning machines allowed for a variety of tapered lines to be easily manufactured and marketed.
British fly-fishing continued to develop in the 19th Century, with the emergence of fly fishing clubs, along with the appearance of several books on the subject of fly tying and fly fishing techniques.
By the mid to late 19th century, expanding
leisure
Leisure has often been defined as a quality of experience or as free time. Free time is time spent away from business, work, job hunting, domestic chores, and education, as well as necessary activities such as eating and sleeping. Leisur ...
opportunities for the middle and lower classes began to have its effect on fly fishing, which steadily grew in mass appeal. The expansion of the railway network in Britain allowed the less affluent for the first time to take weekend trips to the seaside or rivers for fishing. Richer
hobby
A hobby is considered to be a regular activity that is done for enjoyment, typically during one's leisure time. Hobbies include collecting themed items and objects, engaging in creative and artistic pursuits, playing sports, or pursuing oth ...
ists ventured further abroad.
The large rivers of
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
replete with large stocks of
salmon
Salmon () is the common name for several commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family Salmonidae, which are native to tributaries of the North Atlantic (genus ''Salmo'') and North Pacific (genus '' Oncorhy ...
began to attract fishers from England in large numbers in the middle of the century – ''Jones's guide to Norway, and salmon-fisher's pocket companion'', published in 1848, was written by Frederic Tolfrey and was a popular guide to the country.
Modern reel design had begun in England during the latter part of the 18th century, and the predominant model in use was known as the '
Nottingham
Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...
reel'. The reel was a wide drum that spooled out freely and was ideal for allowing the bait to drift a long way out with the current. Geared multiplying reels never successfully caught on in Britain, but had more success in the United States, where similar models were modified by
George Snyder of
Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...
into his bait-casting reel, the first American-made design in 1810.
The material used for the rod itself changed from the heavy woods native to England to lighter and more elastic varieties imported from abroad, especially from South America and the
West Indies
The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...
.
Bamboo
Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, ...
rods became the generally favoured option from the mid 19th century, and several strips of the material were cut from the cane, milled into shape, and then glued together to form the light, strong, hexagonal rods with a solid core that were superior to anything that preceded them.
George Cotton
George Edward Lynch Cotton, Bishop of Calcutta (29 October 1813 – 6 October 1866) was an English educator and clergyman, known for his connections with British India and the public school system.
Life in England
He was born at Chester, a g ...
and his predecessors fished their flies with long rods, and light lines allowing the wind to do most of the work of getting the fly to the fish.
![Trout fishing 1860s](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e9/Trout_fishing_1860s.jpg)
Tackle design began to improve from the 1880s. The introduction of new woods to the manufacture of fly rods made it possible to cast flies into the wind on silk lines, instead of
horse hair. These lines allowed for a much greater casting distance. However, these early fly lines proved troublesome as they had to be coated with various dressings to make them float and needed to be taken off the reel and dried every four hours or so to prevent them from becoming waterlogged. Another negative consequence was that it became easy for the much longer line to get into a tangle – this was called a 'tangle' in Britain, and a 'backlash' in the US. This problem spurred the invention of the regulator to evenly spool the line out and prevent tangling.
The American, Charles F. Orvis, designed and distributed a novel reel and fly design in 1874, described by reel historian Jim Brown as the "benchmark of American reel design," and the first fully modern fly reel.
[Brown, Jim. ''A Treasury of Reels: The Fishing Reel Collection of The American Museum of Fly Fishing.'' Manchester, Vermont: The American Museum of Fly Fishing, 1990.][Schullery, Paul. ''The Orvis Story: 150 Years of an American Sporting Tradition.'' Manchester, Vermont, The Orvis Company, Inc., 2006]
Albert Illingworth, 1st Baron Illingworth
Albert Holden Illingworth, 1st Baron Illingworth PC (25 May 1865 – 23 January 1942), was a British businessman and Liberal politician. He served as Postmaster General between 1916 and 1921 in David Lloyd George's coalition government.
Backg ...
a textiles magnate, patented the modern form of fixed-spool spinning reel in 1905. When casting Illingworth's reel design, the line was drawn off the leading edge of the spool but was restrained and rewound by a line pickup, a device which orbits around the stationary spool. Because the line did not have to pull against a rotating spool, much lighter lures could be cast than with conventional reels.
The development of inexpensive
fiberglass
Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass ( Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass clo ...
rods, synthetic fly lines, and monofilament leaders in the early 1950s, that revived the popularity of fly fishing.
Techniques
![Đó](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4b/%C4%90%C3%B3.jpg)
There are many fishing techniques and tactics for catching fish. The term can also be applied to methods for catching other
aquatic animal
An aquatic animal is any animal, whether invertebrate or vertebrate, that lives in water for most or all of its lifetime. Many insects such as mosquitoes, mayflies, dragonflies and caddisflies have aquatic larvae, with winged adults. Aquatic ani ...
s such as
molluscs
Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is estim ...
(
shellfish,
squid, octopus) and edible marine
invertebrate
Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...
s.
Fishing techniques include
hand gathering,
spearfishing
Spearfishing is a method of fishing that involves impaling the fish with a straight pointed object such as a spear, gig or harpoon. It has been deployed in artisanal fishing throughout the world for millennia. Early civilisations were familia ...
,
netting,
angling
Angling is a fishing technique that uses a fish hook or "angle" (from Old English ''angol'') attached to a fishing line to tether individual fish in the mouth. The fishing line is usually manipulated via a fishing rod, although rodless techni ...
and
trapping
Animal trapping, or simply trapping or gin, is the use of a device to remotely catch an animal. Animals may be trapped for a variety of purposes, including food, the fur trade, hunting, pest control, and wildlife management.
History
Neolithi ...
.
Recreational
Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for enjoyment, amusement, or pleasur ...
,
commercial
Commercial may refer to:
* a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television)
** Radio advertisement
** Television advertisement
* (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...
and
artisanal
An artisan (from french: artisan, it, artigiano) is a skilled craft worker who makes or creates material objects partly or entirely by hand. These objects may be functional or strictly decorative, for example furniture, decorative art ...
fishers use different techniques, and also, sometimes, the same techniques. Recreational fishers fish for pleasure, sport, or to provide food for themselves, while commercial fishers fish for profit. Artisanal fishers use traditional, low-tech methods, for survival in third-world countries, and as a cultural heritage in other countries. Usually, recreational fishers use angling methods and commercial fishers use netting methods. A modern development is to fish with the assistance of a drone.
Why a fish bites a baited hook or lure involves several factors related to the sensory physiology, behaviour, feeding ecology, and biology of the fish as well as the environment and characteristics of the bait/hook/lure. There is an intricate link between various fishing techniques and knowledge about the fish and their behaviour including
migration
Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration
* Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another
** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...
,
foraging
Foraging is searching for wild food resources. It affects an animal's fitness because it plays an important role in an animal's ability to survive and reproduce. Foraging theory is a branch of behavioral ecology that studies the foraging behavi ...
and
habitat
In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...
. The effective use of fishing techniques often depends on this additional knowledge. Some fishers follow
fishing folklores which claim that fish feeding patterns are influenced by the position of the sun and the moon.
Tackle
![angler at devizes england arp](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/Angler_at_devizes_england_arp.jpg)
Fishing tackle is the equipment used by
fishers
Fisher is an archaic term for a fisherman, revived as gender-neutral.
Fisher, Fishers or The Fisher may also refer to:
Places
Australia
*Division of Fisher, an electoral district in the Australian House of Representatives, in Queensland
*Elect ...
when fishing. Almost any equipment or gear used for fishing can be called fishing tackle, although the term is most commonly associated with gears used in
angling
Angling is a fishing technique that uses a fish hook or "angle" (from Old English ''angol'') attached to a fishing line to tether individual fish in the mouth. The fishing line is usually manipulated via a fishing rod, although rodless techni ...
. Some examples are
hooks,
lines
Line most often refers to:
* Line (geometry), object with zero thickness and curvature that stretches to infinity
* Telephone line, a single-user circuit on a telephone communication system
Line, lines, The Line, or LINE may also refer to:
Arts ...
,
sinkers,
floats,
rods,
reels
A reel is an object around which a length of another material (usually long and flexible) is wound for storage (usually hose are wound around a reel). Generally a reel has a cylindrical core (known as a '' spool'') with flanges around the ends ...
,
baits,
lures,
spears,
nets,
gaffs,
traps,
waders and tackle boxes.
Fishing techniques
Fishing techniques are methods for catching fish. The term may also be applied to methods for catching other aquatic animals such as molluscs (shellfish, squid, octopus) and edible marine invertebrates.
Fishing techniques include hand-gatherin ...
refers to the ways the tackles are used when fishing.
Tackles that are attached to the end of a fishing line is collectively called terminal tackles. hese include hooks, sinkers, floats, leader lines,
swivels,
split rings and any wires, snaps, beads, spoons, blades, spinners and clevises to attach spinner blades to fishing lures. People also tend to use dead or live
bait fish
300px, Feeder Goldfish are common baitfish.
Bait fish (or baitfish) are small-sized fish caught and used by anglers as bait to attract larger predatory fish, particularly game fish. Baitfish species are typically those that are common and bree ...
as another form of
bait.
Fishing vessels
![Small sport fishing boat](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/Small_sport_fishing_boat.jpg)
A fishing vessel is a boat or ship used to catch fish in the sea, or on a lake or river. Many different kinds of vessels are used in
commercial
Commercial may refer to:
* a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television)
** Radio advertisement
** Television advertisement
* (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...
,
artisanal
An artisan (from french: artisan, it, artigiano) is a skilled craft worker who makes or creates material objects partly or entirely by hand. These objects may be functional or strictly decorative, for example furniture, decorative art ...
and
recreational fishing
Recreational fishing, also called sport fishing or game fishing, is fishing for leisure, exercise or competition. It can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is professional fishing for profit; or subsistence fishing, which is fishing fo ...
.
According to the
FAO
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...
, in 2004 there were four million commercial fishing vessels.
[FAO 2007] About 1.3 million of these are decked vessels with enclosed areas. Nearly all of these decked vessels are mechanised, and 40,000 of them are over 100 tons. At the other extreme, two-thirds (1.8 million) of the
undecked boats are traditional craft of various types, powered only by sail and oars.
These boats are used by
artisan fishers.
It is difficult to estimate how many
recreational fishing boats there are, although the number is high. The term is fluid since some recreational boats may also be used for fishing from time to time. Unlike most commercial fishing vessels, recreational fishing boats are often not dedicated just to fishing. Just about anything that will stay afloat can be called a recreational fishing boat, so long as a
fisher periodically climbs aboard with the intent to catch a fish. Fish are caught for recreational purposes from boats which range from
dugout canoe
A dugout canoe or simply dugout is a boat made from a hollowed tree. Other names for this type of boat are logboat and monoxylon. ''Monoxylon'' (''μονόξυλον'') (pl: ''monoxyla'') is Greek – ''mono-'' (single) + '' ξύλον xylon'' ( ...
s,
float tubes,
kayaks
A kayak is a small, narrow watercraft which is typically propelled by means of a double-bladed paddle. The word kayak originates from the Greenlandic word '' qajaq'' ().
The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each s ...
,
raft
A raft is any flat structure for support or transportation over water. It is usually of basic design, characterized by the absence of a hull. Rafts are usually kept afloat by using any combination of buoyant materials such as wood, sealed barrels ...
s, stand up paddleboards,
pontoon boat
A pleasure boat with two lengthwise pontoons
A pontoon boat is a flattish boat that relies on floats to remain buoyant. These pontoons (also called ''tubes'') contain much reserve buoyancy and allow designers to create large deck plans fitted w ...
s and small
dinghies
A dinghy is a type of small boat, often carried or towed by a larger vessel for use as a tender. Utility dinghies are usually rowboats or have an outboard motor. Some are rigged for sailing but they differ from sailing dinghies, which ...
to
runabouts,
cabin cruiser
A cabin cruiser is a type of power boat that provides accommodation for its crew and passengers inside the structure of the craft.
A cabin cruiser usually ranges in size from in length, with larger pleasure craft usually considered yachts. Man ...
s and cruising yachts to large, hi-tech and luxurious
big game rigs. Larger boats, purpose-built with recreational fishing in mind, usually have large, open
cockpits at the
stern, designed for convenient fishing.
Traditional fishing
Traditional fishing is any kind of small scale,
commercial
Commercial may refer to:
* a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television)
** Radio advertisement
** Television advertisement
* (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...
or
subsistence
A subsistence economy is an economy directed to basic subsistence (the provision of food, clothing, shelter) rather than to the market. Henceforth, "subsistence" is understood as supporting oneself at a minimum level. Often, the subsistence econo ...
fishing practices using traditional techniques such as
rod and
tackle,
arrows and
harpoon
A harpoon is a long spear-like instrument and tool used in fishing, whaling, sealing, and other marine hunting to catch and injure large fish or marine mammals such as seals and whales. It accomplishes this task by impaling the target animal ...
s,
throw nets and drag nets, etc.
Recreational fishing
Recreational and sport fishing are fishing primarily for
pleasure or competition. Recreational fishing has conventions, rules, licensing restrictions and laws that limit how 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
A reel is an object around which a length of another material (usually long and flexible) is wound for storage (usually hose are wound around a reel). Generally a reel has a cylindrical core (known as a '' spool'') with flanges around the ends ...
,
line,
hooks and any one of a wide range of
baits or
lures such as
artificial flies
An artificial fly or fly lure is a type of fishing lure, usually used in the sport of fly fishing (although they may also be used in other forms of angling). In general, artificial flies are an imitation of aquatic insects that are natural food of ...
. The practice of catching or attempting to catch fish with a hook is generally known as
angling
Angling is a fishing technique that uses a fish hook or "angle" (from Old English ''angol'') attached to a fishing line to tether individual fish in the mouth. The fishing line is usually manipulated via a fishing rod, although rodless techni ...
. In angling, it is sometimes expected or required that fish be returned to the water (
catch and release
Catch and release is a practice within recreational fishing where after capture, often a fast measurement and weighing of the fish is performed, followed by posed photography as proof of the catch, and then the fish are unhooked and returned ...
). Recreational or sport fishermen may log their catches or participate in fishing competitions.
The estimated global number of recreational fishers varies from 220 million to a maximum number of 700 million fishers globally, which is thought to be double the number of individuals working as commercial fishers. In the United States alone it was estimated that 50.1 million people engaged in fishing activities in both
saltwater
Saline water (more commonly known as salt water) is water that contains a high concentration of dissolved salts (mainly sodium chloride). On the United States Geological Survey (USGS) salinity scale, saline water is saltier than brackish water, ...
and
freshwater environments.
Big-game fishing
Big-game fishing, also known as offshore sportfishing, offshore gamefishing or blue-water fishing, is a form of recreational fishing targeting large game fish, usually done on a large body of water such as the ocean.
History
Big-game fishing st ...
is fishing from boats to catch large open-water species such as
tuna
A tuna is a saltwater fish that belongs to the tribe Thunnini, a subgrouping of the Scombridae ( mackerel) family. The Thunnini comprise 15 species across five genera, the sizes of which vary greatly, ranging from the bullet tuna (max len ...
,
shark
Sharks are a group of elasmobranch fish characterized by a cartilaginous skeleton, five to seven gill slits on the sides of the head, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the clade Selachi ...
s, and
marlin
Marlins are fish from the family Istiophoridae, which includes about 10 species. A marlin has an elongated body, a spear-like snout or bill, and a long, rigid dorsal fin which extends forward to form a crest. Its common name is thought to deri ...
. Sportfishing (sometimes game fishing) is 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
tarpon
Tarpons are fish of the genus ''Megalops''. They are the only members of the family Megalopidae. Of the two species, one (''M. atlanticus'') is native to the Atlantic, and the other (''M. cyprinoides'') to the Indo-Pacific Oceans.
Species a ...
,
sailfish
The sailfish is one or two species of marine fish in the genus ''Istiophorus'', which belong to the family Istiophoridae ( marlins). They are predominantly blue to gray in colour and have a characteristically large dorsal fin known as the ...
,
mackerel and many others.
Fishing industry
Contribution of fish to animal protein supply, average 2013-2015.svg, Contribution of fish to animal protein supply, average 2013-2015
File:World capture fisheries and aquaculture production.svg, World capture fisheries and aquaculture production 1950 - 2015
![Albatun Dod](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/12/Albatun_Dod.jpg)
The fishing industry includes any industry or activity concerned with taking, culturing, processing, preserving, storing, transporting, marketing or selling fish or fish products. It is defined by the
FAO
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...
as including
recreational
Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for enjoyment, amusement, or pleasur ...
,
subsistence
A subsistence economy is an economy directed to basic subsistence (the provision of food, clothing, shelter) rather than to the market. Henceforth, "subsistence" is understood as supporting oneself at a minimum level. Often, the subsistence econo ...
and
commercial fishing
Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for commercial profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice it as an industry must often ...
, and the harvesting, Fish processing, processing, and Fish marketing, marketing sectors. The commercial activity is aimed at the delivery of fish and other seafood products for human consumption or use as raw material in other industrial processes.
There are three principal industry sectors:
* The Fishing industry#Commercial sector, commercial sector comprises enterprises and individuals associated with wild-catch or aquaculture resources and the various transformations of those resources into products for sale.
* The Fishing industry#Traditional sector, traditional sector comprises enterprises and individuals associated with fisheries resources from which aboriginal people derive products following their traditions.
* The Fishing industry#Recreational sector, recreational sector comprises enterprises and individuals associated with the purpose of recreation, sport or sustenance with fisheries resources from which products are derived that are not for sale.
Commercial fishing
![Push-up fälla - Ystad-2021](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/20/Push-up_f%C3%A4lla_-_Ystad-2021.jpg)
Commercial fishing is the capture of fish for commercial purposes. Those who practice it must often pursue fish far from the land under adverse conditions. Commercial fishermen harvest almost all aquatic species, from
tuna
A tuna is a saltwater fish that belongs to the tribe Thunnini, a subgrouping of the Scombridae ( mackerel) family. The Thunnini comprise 15 species across five genera, the sizes of which vary greatly, ranging from the bullet tuna (max len ...
, cod and
salmon
Salmon () is the common name for several commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family Salmonidae, which are native to tributaries of the North Atlantic (genus ''Salmo'') and North Pacific (genus '' Oncorhy ...
to
shrimp, krill,
lobster, clams,
squid and
crab, in various fishery, 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 Fishing trawler, trawlers processing tons of fish every day.
Commercial fishing gear includes weights, Fishing net, nets (e.g. purse Seine fishing, seine), seine nets (e.g. beach seine),
trawl
Trawling is a method of fishing that involves pulling a fishing net through the water behind one or more boats. The net used for trawling is called a trawl. This principle requires netting bags which are towed through water to catch different speci ...
s (e.g. Bottom trawling, bottom trawl), dredges,
hooks and line (e.g. Long-line fishing, long line and Hand-line fishing, handline), lift nets, gillnets, entangling nets and Fishing trap, traps.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the total world Wild fisheries, 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
A tuna is a saltwater fish that belongs to the tribe Thunnini, a subgrouping of the Scombridae ( mackerel) family. The Thunnini comprise 15 species across five genera, the sizes of which vary greatly, ranging from the bullet tuna (max len ...
, flounder, Mullet (fish), mullet,
squid,
shrimp,
salmon
Salmon () is the common name for several commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family Salmonidae, which are native to tributaries of the North Atlantic (genus ''Salmo'') and North Pacific (genus '' Oncorhy ...
, 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 farming is the principal form of
aquaculture, while other methods may fall under mariculture. It involves raising fish commercially in tanks or enclosures, usually for food. A facility that releases juvenile fish into the wild for recreational fishing or to supplement a species' natural population is generally referred to as a fish hatchery. Fish species raised by fish farms include Aquaculture of salmon, salmon, carp, Aquaculture of tilapia, tilapia, Aquaculture of catfish, catfish and trout.
Increased demands on
wild fisheries
A wild fishery is a natural body of water with a sizeable free-ranging fish or other aquatic animal (crustaceans and molluscs) population that can be harvested for its commercial value. Wild fisheries can be marine ( saltwater) or lacustrine/r ...
by
commercial fishing
Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for commercial profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice it as an industry must often ...
has caused widespread overfishing. Fish farming offers an alternative solution to the increasing market demand for fish.
Fish products
Fish and fish products are Fish as food, consumed as food all over the world. With other seafoods, it provides the world's prime source of high-quality protein: 14–16 percent of the animal protein consumed worldwide. Over one billion people rely on fish as their primary source of animal protein.
Fish and other aquatic organisms are also processed into various food and non-food products, such as sharkskin leather, pigments made from the inky secretions of cuttlefish, isinglass used for the clarification (wine), clarification of wine and beer, fish emulsion used as a fertiliser, Animal glue, fish glue, fish oil and fish meal.
Fish are also collected live for research and the aquarium trade.
Fish marketing
Fisheries management
![Fishing down the food web](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a2/Fishing_down_the_food_web.jpg)
Fisheries management draws on fisheries science to find ways to protect fishery resources so sustainable exploitation is possible. Modern fisheries management is often referred to as a governmental system of (hopefully appropriate) management rules based on defined objectives and a mix of management means to implement the rules, which are put in place by a system of monitoring control and surveillance.
Fisheries science is the academic discipline of managing and understanding fisheries. It is a multidisciplinary science, which draws on the disciplines of oceanography, marine biology, marine conservation, ecology, Population dynamics of fisheries, population dynamics, economics and management in an attempt to provide an integrated picture of fisheries. In some cases new disciplines have emerged, such as bioeconomics (biology), bioeconomics.
Sustainability
Issues involved in the long term sustainability of fishing include overfishing, by-catch, marine pollution, environmental effects of fishing, Fisheries and climate change, climate change and fish farming.
Conservation issues are part of marine conservation, and are addressed in fisheries science programs. There is a growing gap between how many fish are available to be caught and humanity's desire to catch them, a problem that gets worse as the world population grows.
Similar to other environmental issues, there can be conflict between the fishermen who depend on fishing for their livelihoods and Fisheries scientists, fishery scientists who realise that if future fish populations are to be Sustainable fishing, sustainable then some fisheries must limit fishing or cease operations.
Animal welfare concerns
Historically, some doubted that fish could experience pain. Laboratory experiments have shown that fish do react to painful stimuli (e.g., injections of bee venom) in a similar way to mammals. This is controversial and has been disputed. The expansion of aquaculture, fish farming as well as animal welfare concerns in society has led to research into more humane and faster ways of killing fish.
In large-scale operations like fish farms, stunning fish with electricity or putting them into water saturated with nitrogen so that they cannot breathe, results in death more rapidly than just taking them out of the water. For sport fishing, it is recommended that fish be killed soon after catching them by hitting them on the head followed by exsanguination, bleeding out or by stabbing the brain with a sharp object (called pithing or ''ike jime'' in Japanese). Some believe it is not cruel if you release the catch back to where it was caught however a study in 2018 states that the hook damages an important part of the feeding mechanism by which the fish sucks in food, ignoring the issue of pain.
When fishing there are high chances of catching other marine wildlife in a fishing net. There are over 100 different fishing regulations on paper for reducing this bycatch.
Plastic pollution
Abandoned, lost, or otherwise discarded fishing gear includes netting, mono/multifilament lines, hooks, ropes, floats, buoys, sinkers, anchors, metallic materials and fish aggregating devices (FADs) made of non-biodegradable materials such as concrete, metal and polymers. It has been estimated that global fishing gear losses each year include 5.7% of all fishing nets, 8.6% of all traps and 29% of all lines used. Abandoned, lost, or otherwise discarded fishing gear (ALDFG) can have serious impacts on marine organisms through entanglement and ingestion.
The potential for fishing gear to become ALDFG depends on a number of factors including:
* Environmental factors are mostly related to seafloor topography and obstructions, although tides, currents, waves, winds, and interaction with wildlife are also important.
* Operational losses and operator errors can occur even during normal fishing operations.
* Problems such as inadequate fisheries management and regulations that do not include adequate controls can hamper collection of ALDFG (e.g. there may be poor access to collection facilities).
* Gear loss resulting from conflicts primarily occurs (intentionally or unintentionally) in areas with high concentrations of fishing activities, leading to gear being towed away, fouled, sabotaged or vandalized. Passive and unattended gear such as pots, set gillnets and traps are particularly prone to conflict damage. In the Arctic, conflicts are the most common reason for lost gear.
Cultural impact
![Fishing Woman](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f9/Fishing_Woman.jpg)
;Community :For communities like fishing villages, fisheries provide not only a source of food and work but also a community and cultural identity.
;Economic :Some locations may be regarded as fishing destinations, which anglers visit on vacation or for competitions. The economic impact of fishing by visitors may be a significant, or even primary driver of tourism revenue for some destinations.
;Semantic :A "fishing expedition" is a situation where an interviewer implies they know more than they do to trick their target into divulging more information than they wish to reveal. Other examples of fishing terms that carry a negative connotation are: "fishing for compliments", "to be fooled Fishing tackle#Hook, line and sinker, 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).
;Religious :Fishing has had an effect on major religions, including Christianity, Hinduism, and the various new age religions. Jesus was said to participate in fishing excursions, and a number of the miracles and many parables and stories reported in the Bible involve fish or fishing. Since the Apostles in the New Testament, Apostle Saint Peter, Peter
Peter: From Fisherman to Fisher of Men
Profiles of Faith was a fisherman, the Catholic Church has adopted the use of the fishermans ring into the Pope's traditional Papal regalia and insignia, vestments.
See also
* Angling
* Artisanal fishing
* History of fishing
* List of fishing villages
* Recreational fishing
Notes
References
Sources
Further reading
*
*
*
External links
* .
Map of world ocean fishing activity, 2016
{{Authority control
Fishing,
Survival skills