Fishing industry

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Two of the main reasons usually cited as favourable to the growth of superstition are dangerous working conditions and the degree on which success/failure is affected by ‘luck’ rather than skill. Fishing has clearly fulfilled both these criteria, in abundance, for centuries, and even the introduction of new technologies has not altered the basic nature of the business, and fishing communities have a reputation for being extremely superstitious. Beliefs clustered around various parts of the life, both on shore and at sea, but at the risk of stating the obvious, it must be stressed that not all fishermen were or are superstitious, or to the same degree. In addition, none of the beliefs cited are unique to the fishing community, they all turn up in some guise or other in other trades or communities, particularly, it seems, in the mining industry.

Fishermen had to be particularly careful what happened to them on their way down to the boat. It was considered unlucky for a seaman to meet a woman on his way to the quay, few fishermen would allow a woman on board a ship, and they were not allowed down to the quay to see the boats off (although they could be there to welcome them home). It was also bad to meet a clergyman or see a drowned animal. Seeing a rabbit, hare, or pig was unlucky, as was a squinting person, but meeting a hunchback or an idiot is lucky. Despite these dangers, it was very unlucky to turn back after you had set off from home—even looking back was avoided.

Sailing on a Friday was avoided if possible, and beginning a voyage on Friday the Thirteenth was out of the question. But the worst day of all, was Holy Innocents Day (28 December), which is not surprising considering the story of the slaughter of innocent children after which it is named. While at sea there were numerous prohibitions to be considered. Talking in plain terms about the size of a catch was to be avoided as tempting fate (compare counting), and many words were avoided altogether. One of the strongest taboos was the word ‘pig’, and fishermen and their families would go to extraordinary lengths to avoid saying the actual word. They would use synonyms such as ‘porker’, or spell it out, but no remotely satisfying suggestion for an origin for this has been advanced. Paradoxically, Gill points out that many families in fishing areas actually kept pigs. The word was taboo, no part of a pig should be taken on board, to see a pig on the way to sailing was unlucky, but the animal itself on shore was not forbidden or even feared.

Carrying a corpse on board ship was avoided if at all possible, and if it was absolutely necessary it had to lie across the ship (not end on) and should leave the ship before any of the crew. Coins figure in more than one custom. All new vessels had to have a coin beneath the mast, and many fishermen would cut a slit in the cork floats on a net and insert a coin to pay for their catch. Most ships had a horseshoe nailed to the mast, and a knife stuck into a mast would encourage a fair wind.

Many seamen share the belief with the general population that possession of a child's caul will protect you from drowning, and they naturally have a vested interest in possessing one. There was a curious tendency in past times for seamen to be unable to swim. This was perhaps based on an idea that to learn would be to tempt fate, or that if the sea wants to take you it will not be cheated and there is nothing you can do to prevent it.

That whistling can be very dangerous is a belief shared with other professions. At sea it was believed that it conjured up a wind, of which much could be disastrous, although in sailing days a little judicious whistling might be necessary if you were becalmed. There was also a hint that whistling attracted the attention of unwelcome forces which were best left alone. A whistling woman was a particular anathema. Seamen were careful not to put certain items upside down—a bowl or hatch cover, for example—as this would cause a boat somewhere to capsize. On shore or at sea, the ringing sound made by a glass accidentally knocked must be stopped immediately or another sailor would be washed overboard.

It was not only the fishermen themselves who were circumscribed by superstition, but their families at home had to be careful in certain actions. Wives must never wash the man's clothes on sailing day (or other inauspicious days such as New Year's Day) or she will ‘wash him overboard’, families must not wave him goodbye, or even say anything as final as ‘goodbye’. Do not point to ships, or count them, or watch them sail out of sight, and so on. In fishing communities, these worries were well understood, and women would be as careful to avoid meeting a seaman as he would to meet them.

It is still considered extremely unwise to change the name of a boat, as it brings bad luck to the vessel and its crew. R. L. Stevenson's novel Treasure Island ((1881), chapter 11) is the first to mention the idea, but, as Gill points out, it is far from uncommon for fishing trawlers to undergo a name-change. Ships which are bought second-hand by other companies, and whole fleets which were taken over, have regularly had their names changed, as did ships which were requisitioned in the two world wars. Similarly, some companies use the same name for a succession of vessels. Nevertheless, the seamen themselves dislike the practice, and often blame a name-change for subsequent ill luck (Opie and Tatem, 1989: 33; Igglesden, c.1932: 116-19).

On a lighter note, the mackerel fishermen of Sussex, and their families, had a celebratory feast every year on the day the season started, which was often May Day or just before. The celebration was called ‘Bendin’ in', which may refer to the custom of bending the nets or may be a corruption of the word Benediction (see, for example, Simpson, 1973:117-18). There are various records from round the country of the sea, the boats, the men, the fish, etc., being blessed at the beginning of the fishing season. Another regular feature is for the fishing boats to be decorated with garlands.

See also SEAFARING CUSTOMS AND BELIEFS.Christina Hole, Folklore 78 (1967), 184-9; Shaw Jeffrey, Whitby Lore and Legend (enlarged edn., 1923), 137-43; Gill, 1993.

Modern Spanish tuna purse seiner in the Seychelles Islands

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 as including recreational, subsistence and commercial fishing, and the harvesting, processing, and marketing sectors.^[1] The commercial activity is aimed at the delivery of fish and other seafood products for human consumption or as input factors in other industrial processes. Directly or indirectly, the livelihood of over 500 million people in developing countries depends on fisheries and aquaculture.^[2]

Contents 1 Sectors 2 Commercial sector 2.1 World production 2.2 Commercial fishing 2.3 Fish farming 2.4 Fish processing 2.5 Fish products 2.6 Fish marketing 3 Traditional sector 4 Recreational sector 5 References 6 External links

Sectors

wild  marine  pelagic  predator  tuna billfish shark forage herring sardine anchovy menhaden  demersal  cod flatfish freshwater  farmed  carp salmon tilapia Commercially important fisheries

There are three principal industry sectors:^[3]

• The commercial sector: comprises enterprises and individuals associated with wild-catch or aquaculture resources and the various transformations of those resources into products for sale. It is also referred to as the "seafood industry", although non-food items such as pearls are included among its products.

• The traditional sector: comprises enterprises and individuals associated with fisheries resources from which aboriginal people derive products in accordance with their traditions.

• The recreational sector: comprises enterprises and individuals associated for the purpose of recreation, sport or sustenance with fisheries resources from which products are derived that are not for sale.

Commercial sector

The commercial sector of the fishing industry comprises the following chain:

1. Commercial fishing and fish farming which produce the fish
2. Fish processing which produce the fish products
3. Marketing of the fish products

World production

FAO catch statistics, world catches 1950-2005 in million tonnes.

Main articles: World fish production and Fishing industry by country

Fish are harvested by commercial fishing and aquaculture.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the world harvest in 2005 consisted of 93.3 million tonnes captured by commercial fishing in wild fisheries, plus 48.1 million tonnes produced by fish farms. In addition, 1.3 million tons of aquatic plants (seaweed etc) were captured in wild fisheries and 14.8 million tons were produced by aquaculture.^[4]

Following is a table of the 2005 world fishing industry harvest in tonnes by capture and by aquaculture.^[4]

	Capture	Aquaculture	Total
Fish, crustaceans, molluscs, etc	93,253,346	48,149,792	141,403,138
Aquatic plants	1,305,803	14,789,972	16,095,775
Total	94,559,149	62,939,764	157,498,913

This equates to about 24.4 kilograms a year for the average person on Earth.

Commercial fishing

Double-rigged shrimp trawler hauling in the nets

Main article: Commercial fishing

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.

In the 1990s and 2000s it has become increasingly evident that industrial fishing has severely depleted stocks of certain types of ocean fish, such as cod.

Fish farming

Intensive koi aquaculture facility in Israel

Main articles: Aquaculture, Mariculture, and Fish farm

Aquaculture is the cultivation of aquatic organisms. Unlike fishing, aquaculture, also known as aquafarming, is the cultivation of aquatic populations under controlled conditions.^[5] Mariculture refers to aquaculture practiced in marine environments. Particular kinds of aquaculture include algaculture (the production of kelp/seaweed and other algae); fish farming; shrimp farming, shellfish farming, and the growing of cultured pearls.

Fish farming involves raising fish commercially in tanks or enclosed pools, usually for food. Fish species raised by fish farms include carp, salmon, tilapia, catfish and cod. Increasing demands on wild fisheries by commercial fishing operations have caused widespread overfishing. Fish farming offers an alternative solution to the increasing market demand for fish and fish protein.

Fish processing

Tuna under the knife

Main article: Fish processing

Fish processing is the processing of fish delivered by commercial fisheries and fish farms. The larger fish processing companies have their own fishing fleets and independent fisheries. The products of the industry are usually sold wholesale to grocery chains or to intermediaries.

Fish processing can be subdivided into two categories: fish handling (the initial processing of raw fish) and fish products manufacturing. Aspects of fish processing occur on fishing vessels, fish processing vessels, and at fish processing plants.

Another natural subdivision is into primary processing involved in the filleting and freezing of fresh fish for onward distribution to fresh fish retail and catering outlets, and the secondary processing that produces chilled, frozen and canned products for the retail and catering trades.^[6]

Fish products

Sea urchin roe.

Main article: Fish products

Fisheries are estimated to currently provide 16% of the world population's protein. 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, jellyfish and roe.

Fish and other marine life are also be used for many other uses: pearls and mother-of-pearl, sharkskin and rayskin. Sea horses, star fish, sea urchins and sea cucumber are used in traditional Chinese medicine. Tyrian purple is a pigment made from marine snails, sepia is a pigment made from the inky secretions of cuttlefish. Fish glue has long been valued for its use in all manner of products. Isinglass is used for the clarification of wine and beer. Fish emulsion is a fertilizer emulsion that is produced from the fluid remains of fish processed for fish oil and fish meal.

In the industry the term seafood products is often used instead of fish products.

Fish marketing

Fresh seafood laid out on one of several floating barge vendors.

Main article: Fish marketing

Fish markets are marketplace used for the trade in and sale of fish and other seafood. They can be dedicated to wholesale trade between fishermen and fish merchants, or to the sale of seafood to individual consumers, or to both. Retail fish markets, a type of wet market, often sell street food as well.

Most shrimps are sold frozen and are marketed in different categories.^[7] The live food fish trade is a global system that links fishing communities with markets.

Traditional sector

Fishing in Cà Mau, Vietnam.

Main article: Artisan fishing

The traditional fishing industry, or artisan fishing, are terms used to describe small scale commercial or subsistence fishing practises, particularly using traditional techniques such as rod and tackle, arrows and harpoons, throw nets and drag nets, etc. It does not usually cover the concept of fishing for sport, and might be used when talking about the pressures between large scale modern commercial fishing practises and traditional methods, or when aid programs are targeted specifically at fishing at or near subsistence levels.

Recreational sector

Fly fishing in a river

See also: Recreational fishing

The recreational fishing industry consists of enterprises such as the manufacture and retailing of fishing tackle and apparel, the payment of license fees to regulatory authorities, fishing books and magazines, the design and building of recreational fishing boats, and the provision of accommodation, fishing boats for charter, and guided fishing adventures.

References

1. ^ FAO Fisheries Section: Glossary: Fishing industry. Retrieved 28 May 2008.
2. ^ Fisheries and Aquaculture in our Changing Climate Policy brief of the FAO for the UNFCCC COP-15 in Copenhagen, December 2009.
3. ^ The wording of the following definitions of the fishing industry are based on those used by the Australian government
4. ^ ^{a b} FAO: Fisheries and Aquaculture
5. ^ American Heritage Definition of Aquaculture
6. ^ Royal Society of Edinburgh (2004) Inquiry into the future of the Scottish fishing industry. 128pp.
7. ^ "ScienceDirect - Aquaculture : Comparative economics of shrimp farming in Asia". www.sciencedirect.com. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6T4D-3T8P28T-F&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=48a8882e385af72d0dbdbacde67a9ebe. Retrieved 2008-03-27. 

External links

• FAO Fisheries Information
• World Fishing Today, news from fishing industry
• Fish database (FishBase)
• American Fisheries Society
• NOAA Fisheries Service
• One Fish
• The Sunken Billions: The Economic Justification for Fisheries Reform

v • d • e Fishing industry Commercial fishing Trawling · Pair trawling · Midwater trawling · Bottom trawling · Seining · Longlining · Trolling · Dredging · Fishing vessels · Power block Fish processing Fish factory · Factory ship · Fish preservation · Slurry ice · Gibbing · Fish flake · Salted cod · Unsalted cod Fish products Seafood · Fish as food · Fish roe · Fish meal · Fish emulsion · Fish hydrolysate · Fish oil · Fish sauce · Shrimp paste · Seafood list · Crustaceans · Molluscs Fish marketing Live food fish trade · Shrimp marketing · Chasse-marée · Fishmonger · Fishwife · Worshipful Company of Fishmongers Fish markets Billingsgate · Fulton · Maine Avenue · English Market · Scania · Tsukiji · more... Area fisheries World fish production · Fishing by country · Fishing banks · Other areas

v • d • e Principal fishery species groups Large pelagic fish Mackerel · Salmon · Shark · Swordfish · Tuna (yellowfin, bigeye, bluefin, albacore and skipjack) Forage fish Anchovy · Capelin · Herring · Hilsa · Menhaden · Sardines · Shad Demersal fish Catfish · Cod (Atlantic, Pacific) · Flatfish (flounder, halibut, plaice, sole and turbot) · Haddock · Mullet · Orange roughy · Pollock · Smelt-whitings · Toothfish Freshwater fish Carp · Sturgeon · Tilapia · Trout Other wild fish Eel · Whitebait · more... Crustaceans Crab · Krill · Lobster · Shrimp · more... Molluscs Abalone · Mussels · Octopus · Oysters · Scallops · Squid · more... Echinoderms Sea cucumbers · Sea urchin · more... Aquaculture Carp (bighead, common, crucian, grass, silver) · Catfish · Freshwater prawns · Mussels · Oysters · Salmon (Atlantic, salmon trout, coho, chinook) · Tilapia · Shrimp Commercial fishing · Fisheries glossary

v • d • e Fisheries and fishing topic areas Fisheries Fisheries science · Wild fisheries · Oceanic habitats · Fish farming · Aquaculture · Fish diversity · Fish diseases · Fisheries management · Fishing quota · Sustainability Fishing Fisherman · Artisan fishing · Fishing villages · Fishing vessels · Fishing history Industry Commercial fishing · Processing · Products · Seafood · Marketing · Markets Recreational Angling · Game fishing · Fly fishing · Catch and release Techniques Gathering · Spearfishing · Line fishing · Netting · Trawling · Trapping · Other Tackle Hook · Line · Sinker · Rod · Bait · Lures · Artificial flies · Bite alarms Locations Fishing by country · Fishing villages · Fishing banks · Fish ponds List of articles by topic areas · Alphabetical list of articles · Fisheries glossary

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