fishing

(fĭsh'ĭng)
n.

1. The act, occupation, or sport of catching fish.
2. A place for catching fish.

View more Technology videos

For more information on fishing, visit Britannica.com.

Gone Fishin'

People have been fishing for food since prehistoric times. Fishing as a sport is a more recent phenomenon. Izaak Walton, who was born on this date in 1593, wrote the most famous treatise on fishing, The Compleat Angler; or, the Contemplative Man's Recreation in 1653. Walton added to it, and republished the book several times over his lifetime. The Compleat Angler is about the technique of angling, and about the tranquility that comes with the sport. Walton also wrote biographies of his friends, John Donne, Sir Henry Wotton, and George Herbert, all anglers themselves.

Previous:	Ivan Pavlov
Next:	What are the 'Three Laws of Robotics'?

From our Archives: Today's Highlights, August 9, 2005

---

Fishing is the art and science of catching animals that live in water. This pursuit can be for fun or profit. Recreational angling is often practiced as an art, with little to no expectation of actually catching and keeping a fish for personal use. In commercial fishing, there is an expectation of catching and keeping fish or invertebrates and an expectation of selling those animals for profit. This article will focus on commercial fishing.

Hunting and gathering animals that live in water is an ancient form of food gathering. Today, aquatic animals caught from wild populations are one of, if not the last, major food category we still predominantly hunt and gather. Virtually all of the other foods we consume are grown in agricultural operations. However, we are in the early phases of a major transition from hunting and gathering fish and shellfish to agricultural production (aquaculture) of aquatic animals.

We live on a wet planet. Water comprises greater than 70 percent of Earth, and that habitat is home to far more vertebrates than the dry portion of the planet. Given the size and scope of aquatic habitats and the diversity of species present, it is not surprising that it took until 1989 to reach maximum sustainable yield from the world's oceans. Maximum sustainable yield is the tonnage of aquatic animals that can be harvested annually while maintaining healthy populations. It is important to note that there are two distinct groupings when discussing fish: individual species and the sum of all species. Further subdivisions are possible, but the important point is that individual populations or species can be in poor condition (for example, low numbers) while overall, fishes in that body of water are generally healthy.

Since 1989, global commercial harvest has been close to 90 million metric tons, and that figure is not expected to increase. The largest commercial harvest industries are for species used for making fish meal (anchovy, herring, and menhaden) and those used for food (pollack, mackerel, and capelin). The largest species-oriented industries are listed in Table 1.

There are over 22,000 species of fish, and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization monitors commercial harvest of slightly over 1,100 species. Further, a thorough understanding of fish taxonomy (the science of fish identification) is not commonplace among many commercial fishermen. Thus, many species simply are grouped into a nonspecific category such as marine fishes. From the data above, it seems clear that the commercial fishing fleets from the western coast of South America (Chile and Peru) and Southeast Asia (China, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, and Japan) harvest more fish than other parts of the planet. Not shown in Table 1 are the most productive fishing grounds, which are the Pacific Northwest, Pacific Southeast, and the northeastern portion of the Atlantic Ocean.

Table 1

Commercial harvest of fish and shellfish in 1999 and the country of landing
Species	Harvest (million metric tons)
Anchovy, Peru	6,740,225
Marine fishes, China*	3,853,814
Anchovy, Chile	1,983,040
Pollack, Russian Federation	1,500,450
Marine mollusks, China*	1,445,303
Freshwater fishes, China*	1,394,610
Largehead hairtail, China	1,222,454
Jack mackerel, Chile	1,219,689
Marine crustaceans, China*	1,131,643
Anchovy, Japan	1,096,916
Pollack, United States	1,055,016
Herring, Norway	821,435
Araucanian herring, Chile	782,142
Marine fishes, Vietnam*	770,000
Marine fishes, Thailand*	750,000
Capelin, Iceland	703,694
Marine fishes, Myanmar*	695,904
Gulf menhaden, United States	694,242
*Many species are listed under a general heading.
SOURCE: United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization

There are several reasons postulated for the plateauing of commercial harvests. Pollution and other environmental stressors on fish populations are common speculations, as well as overharvest by commercial fishing fleets. From the industrial revolution to current times, pollutant levels in the oceans increased and certainly had some negative impact on populations of animals in aquatic habitats. Over the same time period, commercial harvesting equipment improved significantly and also contributed to declines in populations and leveling of harvest volumes. Regardless of the cause, wild populations of many fish and shellfish declined in the latter half of the twentieth century. However, it is important to grasp the scope of the situation before assigning blame to any particular cause.

The average depth of oceans is over 13,000 feet (4,000 meters). Over 84 percent of the oceans are deeper than 6,500 feet (2,000 meters). The Marianas Trench in the western Pacific Ocean is the deepest place at 36,000 feet (11,000 meters), deeper by a mile than the altitude of Mount Everest (29,000 feet, or 8,845 meters high). As stated earlier, the vast majority of our planet is under water. Many species of fish either travel long distances in their normal habits or the populations inhabit large areas. Given these facts, establishing accurate population estimates is virtually impossible. Fishing gears and efficiency of commercial harvest have increased significantly and also contribute to attaining maximum sustainable yield.

Fishing gears are largely unchanged from ancient times. Nets of various types are the most commonly used commercial fishing gear. The basic concept of a net, regardless of the configuration, is the same today as it was when ancient man first wove fibers together to make nets. Impaling devices such as spears and harpoons are also unchanged from ancient times. There are numerous types of traps in use, mainly for trapping crustaceans (lobsters, crabs, crayfish), and those have ancient origins. Fishing gears have become more efficient, but in subtle ways. Prior to about 1980, trawls (nets pulled behind a boat) could attain only a limited depth and were nonspecific in their catch. Significant research efforts resulted in trawls that could be fished deeper (up to 8,200 feet, or 2,500 meters) and had devices that would tend to exclude mammals or turtles. Harpoons are not routinely used in the twenty-first century, and spears have evolved to spear guns for individual fishermen. Trap materials have changed with the advent of polymers, but the basic configurations have not changed for hundreds of years. The major change that occurred is not in gears, but in the boats.

Commercial fishing boats are capable of staying at sea for months at a time, giving fishermen the ability to fish anywhere in the world. Technological advances in engines, fuels, and boat designs, coupled with international treaties that allow foreign fishing fleets safe harbor, increased the efficiency of commercial operations. Harvested animals can be cleaned on board and frozen at –76°F (–60°C) for extended storage. Large companies evolved to more efficiently harvest fish, and those companies developed the concept of multiple fishing boats and a mother ship for processing and storing fish. It is not uncommon to find Japanese fishermen in the North Atlantic Ocean harvesting giant bluefin tuna. Fishermen also take advantage of the other forms of commercial transport, taking some of their harvest to nearby ports and consigning them to air freight companies for transport back to home bases. Frozen giant bluefin tuna are flown from New York to Tokyo regularly.

Restrictions on commercial harvest have been common since the early 1980s. As populations declined, state or federal regulatory agencies restricted harvest by establishing quotas (limited number of fishing licenses), restricting harvest volume (limitation on volume, which can be expressed per day, week, or season), or restricting gears (numbers of traps, length of nets, number of nets). There is at least one example on every coast of the United States in which commercial harvest has been significantly curtailed, even to the point of declaring the species rare and endangered. However, as mentioned above, the size and scope of fishing demands that many countries contribute toward management of populations.

International agreements are in place that define who can fish where, seasons for fishing, and gear acceptance. Most countries claim some distance from their shores as available only to local fishermen. The Fisheries Conservation and Management Act (or the Magnuson Act) was adopted in 1976 and declared the first two hundred miles (322 kilometers) from U.S. shores as open only to U.S. fishermen. The International Whaling Commission was established in 1946 to regulate the global harvest of whales, but has only slowly gained momentum and has no real authority to enforce agreements. Native Americans retained many of their rights to traditional fisheries and harvest those populations in the twenty-first century. Many times, these harvests are contrary to recommendations from regulatory agencies and are controversial with other fishermen.

Fishing communities in New England, the Gulf Coast, and the West Coast have been seriously impacted by the decline in commercial fishing. Whole communities are in significant economic crisis. New industries are not readily apparent for a labor force trained in commercial fishing, processing, and distribution of fish and shellfish. Since the 1980s the fisheries have been in sharp decline, and with it a way of life. Some fishermen, with modified gears, are able to switch species. For example, in 1970, the harvest of the Argentine shortfin squid was 1,300 metric tons. However, harvest of anchovy became erratic and new species were sought, including the shortfin squid. Between 1970 and 1999, total harvest of the Peruvian anchovy by all countries varied from 93,000 metric tons to over 13 million metric tons. Over this same time period, harvest of the shortfin squid increased to just over 1 million metric tons. Harvest of the Atlantic cod, the species used in most fish sandwiches in the United States, has declined from over 3 million metric tons to around 1 million metric tons. A replacement has not been identified in the North Atlantic ocean. Creative marketing techniques also opened opportunities for commercial fishermen. A deep-water species around Australia, New Zealand, and Tasmania was once unmarketable. The local name for this fish was the slime head. However, under its new name, orange roughy has found a ready market in the United States.

The newest of the commercial harvest industries developed in the past forty or fifty years and focused on species inhabiting coral reefs. The pet or hobby aquarium trade increased significantly as technology made it possible to maintain saltwater fish tanks in any temperature-controlled room. Harvest was often by hand, using small dip nets, but more recently other forms of harvest have been used, including poisons (cyanide) and explosives. These collection methods are indiscriminate and have been banned in most countries. The demand for ornamental fishes coupled with the gradual bans on many harvest techniques led to development of aquaculture industries focused on tropical fishes for home aquaria. The same scenario is occurring with fishes destined for food. However, culture of fishes for making fish meal is not occurring and appears unlikely. Fish harvested for fish meal do not command high prices and need large areas. The economics of that form of aquaculture are not favorable.

Bibliography

Levinton, Jeffrey S. Marine Biology: Function, Biodiversity, Ecology, 2d ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001.

Moyle, Peter B., and Joseph J. Cech, Jr. Fishes: An Introduction to Ichthyology, 3d ed. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1996.

Von Brandt, Andres. Fish Catching Methods of the World. 3d ed. Surrey, Great Britain: Fishing News Books, 1984.

—Paul B. Brown

IN BRIEF: The act of catching aquatic animals.

Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after. — Henry David Thoreau, (1817-1862), American philosopher and naturalist, writer of Walden.

LearnThatWord.com is a free vocabulary and spelling program where you only pay for results!

as in: to catch fish
sign description: One A hand makes quick motion forward, followed by the opposite A hand making a cranking motion at the wrist of the other hand.

---

Quotes:

"We may say of angling, as Dr. Boteler said of strawberries, Doubtless God could have made a better berry, but doubtless God never did; and so, if I might be judge, God never did make a more calm, quiet, innocent recreation than angling." - Izaak Walton

"Angling may be said to be so like the mathematics that it can never be fully learned." - Izaak Walton

"Caution is a most valuable asset in fishing, especially if you are the fish." - Source Unknown

"The perch swallows the grub-worm, the pickerel swallows the perch, and the fisherman swallows the pickerel; and so all the chinks in the scale of being are filled." - Henry David Thoreau

"All you need to be a fisherman is patience and a worm." - Herb Shriner

"No human being, however great, or powerful, was ever so free as a fish." - John Ruskin

See more famous quotes about Fishing

For a list of words related to fishing, see:

• Fishing Practice and Techniques - fishing: technique, practice, and diversion of catching fish for sport, usu. with line, hook, and rod
• Hobbies - fishing: sport of catching fish with rod and line, hook, spear, or net
• Athletic Events and Activities

---

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
n. - fiskeri, fiskeret, politiransagning

idioms:

• fishing rod    fiskestang
• fishing tackle    kiptalje

Nederlands (Dutch)
visserij, visplaats, het vissen

Français (French)
n. - pêche

idioms:

• fishing rod    canne à pêche
• fishing tackle    attirail de pêche, articles de pêche

Deutsch (German)
n. - Fischerei, Fischen, Angeln

idioms:

• fishing rod    Angelrute
• fishing tackle    Angelgeräte

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - αλιεία, ψάρεμα

idioms:

• fishing rod    καλάμι ψαρέματος
• fishing tackle    σύνεργα ψαρικής

Italiano (Italian)
pesca

idioms:

• fishing rod    canna da pesca
• fishing tackle    esche

Português (Portuguese)
n. - pesca (f)

idioms:

• fishing rod    vara (f) de pescar
• fishing tackle    equipamentos (m pl) de pesca

Русский (Russian)
рыбная ловля, выпытывающий, наводящий (вопрос)

idioms:

• fishing rod    удилище, удочка
• fishing tackle    рыболовные снасти

Español (Spanish)
n. - pesca, industria pesquera, pesquería

idioms:

• fishing rod    caña de pescar
• fishing tackle    aparejos de pesca

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - fiskande

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
钓鱼, 鱼业

idioms:

• fishing rod    钓竿
• fishing tackle    钓具

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 釣魚, 魚業

idioms:

• fishing rod    釣竿
• fishing tackle    釣具

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 낚시, 어장

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 魚釣り, 漁業, 釣り, 漁場

idioms:

• fishing rod    釣り竿, 釣りざお
• fishing tackle    釣り具

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) الصيد , صيد السمك‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮דיג‬

If you are unable to view some languages clearly, click here.

To select your translation preferences click here.