Fishing Overview

Fishing Overview
By Christopher John Bennett Christopher John Bennett

Fishing is, in simple words, catching fish from sea, river, or any other aquatic source. It is one of the oldest methods for gathering food in human history. Over 38 million people in the world are related to any form of fishing or fishing business. In many countries, fishing is the most accepted profession and major income source. Beside a profession, fishing is very popular as a recreational sport. Fishing is more common in Asia than any other part of the world and about one fifth of total production rounds up from here.

The main source of collecting fish is the sea. There are some popular sea grounds for fishing and fish is available in these spots around the whole year. Some of these grounds, known as fishing banks, are Agulhas bank, Flemish Cap, Grand banks, Hawkins bank, Princess Alice etc. Most of the fishing villages grow near an available fishing bank. Some of these villages are hundred years old and still following the tradition. Most people in a fishing village are fishermen. Their work include from catching fish to prepare and send it to market. Usually the fishing villages are wholesaler to the local shops or may be to the international market. Sometimes, if the bank is in deep sea, the fishermen use a floating zone to store fish.

Inland fishing is also very important. It is the main source for the domestic demand of a country. This kind of fishing does not need lots of equipments or technology and it involves both professional and recreational fishermen. A fisherman is a person who catches fish. However, sometimes, his job is to prepare fish as well as sending it to the market and for that, the fisher man must have knowledge about the fish processing system. Women are usually very expert in fish processing techniques and marketing in the fishing villages. Sometimes they even go to fishing at sea. The fishermen use boat for fishing, but a practical fishing boat is different in many ways from a regular boat. It needs a lot of modifications to prepare the boat for long time sea travel and also for catching and storing fish. Other fishing equipments are also installed in a fishing boat. Radio communication system is also an important part of a fishing boat.

Catching fish is not so easy. It requires a lot of techniques, skills, and patience. Professional fishermen use modern technology like radio communication and GPS besides regular fishing equipments for fishing. Using those things allows them to go to the deep sea with a low risk and also they keep a constant contact with the coast to get weather information.

Besides the fish, other aquatic animals are also included in fishing. All of them are widely accepted food, known as seafood, all over the world. Some of the top producers of seafood are the China, Japan, Russia, Indonesia, Peru, and United States. About one third of total production comes from China. The fish market and related business is very wide spread and still growing.