Fishing

Fishing is the activity of hunting for fish. By extension, the term fishing is also applied to hunting for other aquatic animals such as various types of shellfish as well as squid, octopus, turtles, frogs and some edible marine invertebrates. The term fishing is not applied to the hunting of aquatic mammals such as whales. Fishing is an ancient and worldwide practice with many techniques and traditions, and it has been transformed by modern technological developments.

Fishing techniques

Hand fishing

It is possible to fish with minimal equipment by using only the hands. In the USA catching catfish in this way is known as Noodling.

Related Topics:
USA - Catfish - Noodling

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In the British Isles, the practice of catching Trout by hand is known as Trout tickling, it is an art mentioned several times in the plays of Shakespeare.

Related Topics:
Trout - Trout tickling - Shakespeare

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Trout binning is a method of fishing, possibly fictional, performed with a Sledgehammer. http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/11267

Related Topics:
Trout binning - Sledgehammer

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Divers can catch lobsters by hand.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Pearl diving is the practice of hunting for oysters by free-diving to depths of up to 30m.

Related Topics:
Pearl diving - Oysters

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Spear and bow fishing

Spear fishing is an ancient method of fishing and may be conducted with an ordinary spear or a specialised variant such as an eel spear (Image) or the trident. A small trident type spear with a long handle is used in the American South and Mid-West for "gigging" bullfrogs with a bright light at night, or for gigging carp and other trash fish in the shallows.

Related Topics:
Spear fishing - Spear - Trident - Bullfrog - Carp

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Traditional spear fishing is restricted to shallow waters, but the development of the speargun has made the method much more efficient. With practice, divers are able to hold their breath for up to four minutes; of course, a diver with underwater breathing equipment can dive for much longer periods.

Related Topics:
Speargun - Underwater breathing equipment

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Hunter gatherers may use the bow to kill fish in shallow water.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Fishing nets

All fishing nets are meshes usually formed by knotting a realtivley thin thread.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A small hand net held open by a hoop and possibly on the end of a long stiff handle has been known since and antiqity and may be used for sweeping up fish near the water surface. In England, hand netting is the only legal way of catching eels and has been practiced for thousands of years on the River Parrett and River Severn.

Related Topics:
England - River Parrett - River Severn

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A casting net is circular with a weighted periphery. Sizes vary up to about 4m diameter. The net is thrown by hand in such a manner that speads out on the water and sinks. Fish are caught as the net is hauled back in. http://www.nccoastalfishing.com/index.htm?casting.htm~main.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Coracle-fishing is performed by two men, each seated in his coracle and with one hand holding the net while with the other he plies his paddle. When a fish is caught, each hauls up his end of the net until the two coracles are brought to touch and the fish is then secured.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Chinese fishing nets found at Kochi in India are an unusal method of fishing. Huge mechanical contrivances hold out horizontal nets of 20m or more across. The nets are dipped into the water and raised again, but otherwise cannot be moved.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A seine is a large fishing net that hangs vertically in the water by attaching weights along the bottom edge and floats along the top.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Trawling is a method of fishing that involves actively pulling a fishing net through the water behind one or more boats.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A Gillnet catches fish which try to pass through it by snagging on the gill covers, thus trapped, the fish can neither advance trough the net nor retreat.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Ghost nets are nets that have been lost at sea may continue to be a menace to wildlife for many years.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Dredging

There are types of dredges used for collecting scallops or oysters from the seabed. They tend to have the form of a scoop made of chain mesh and they are towed by a fishing boat. Scallop dredging is very destructive to the seabed, and nowadays is often replaced by scuba diving to collect the scallops.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Fishing lines

Fish are caught with a fishing line by encoraging a fish to bite upon a fish hook or a gorge. A fishing hook will pierce the mouthparts of a fish and may be barbed to make escape less likely. A gorge buried in the bait it would be swallowed end first; then the tightening of the line would fix it cross-wise in the quarry's, stomach or gullet and so the capture would be assured.

Related Topics:
Fishing line - Fish hook

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Fishing with rod and line is called angling.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Trolling is a technique in which a fishing lure on a line is drawn through the water. Trolling from a moving boat is a technique of Big-game fishing and is used when fishing from boats to catch large open-water species such as tuna and marlin. Trolling is also a freshwater angling technique.

Related Topics:
Trolling - Big-game fishing - Tuna - Marlin

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Long-line fishing is a commercial fishing technique that uses hundreds or even thousands of baited hooks hanging from a single line.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Kite fishing

Kite fishing was invented in China and was (and is) also know to the people of of New Guinea and other Pacific Islands. It is not clear whether kite fishing was communicated or of independent invention. Suitable kites may be of very simple construction, those of Tobi island are as follows: a large leaf stiffened by the ribs of the fronds of the coconut palm; fishing line may be made from coconut fibre and lure made from spiders webs.

Related Topics:
Kite - China - New Guinea - Pacific Islands - Tobi

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Kites can provide the boatless fisherman access to waters that have been heretofore available only to boats and for boat owners, kites provide a way to fish in areas where it is not safe to take their boats such as shallows or coral reefs where fish may be plentiful. Kites can also be used for trolling a lure through the water.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Ice fishing

Ice fishing is the practice of catching fish with lines and hooks through an opening in the ice on a frozen body of water. It is practiced by hunter-gatherers such as the Inuit. Image

Related Topics:
Ice fishing - Hunter-gatherers - Inuit

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Fish traps

Traps are cluturally almost universal and seem to have been independently invented many times. There are essentially two types of trap, a permanent or semi-permanent structure placed in a river or tidal area and pot-traps that are baited to attract prey and periodically lifted.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The aboriginal natives of Australia were, prior to European colonisation, most populous in Australia's better-watered areas such as the Murray-Darling river system of the south-east. Here, where water level's fluctuate seasonally, the native australians constructed several ingeniously constructed stone fish traps. Unfortunately most have been completely or partially destroyed. The largest and best known were the Brewarrina fish traps on the Barwon River at Brewarrina in New South Wales, which fortunately are at least partly preserved http://www.deh.gov.au/heritage/national/sites/brewarrina.html. The Brewarinna fish traps caught huge numbers of migratory native fish as the Barwon River rose in flood and then fell. In southern Victoria, the aboriginals created an elaborate systems of canals, some more than 2km long. The purpose of these canals was the encouragement and catching of eels, a fish of short coastal rivers (as opposed to rivers of the Murray-Darling system). The eels were caught by a variety of traps including stone walls constructed across canals with a net placed across an opening in the wall. Traps at different levels in the marsh came into operation as the water level rose and fell. Somewhat similar stone wall traps were constructed by native American Pit River people in northeastern California. http://www.primitiveways.com/ajumawi_fish_traps.html

Related Topics:
Aboriginal natives of Australia - Murray - Darling - New South Wales - Victoria - Canals - Eels - Murray-Darling - Pit River - California

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In medieval Europe, large fishing weir structures were constructed from wood posts and wattle fences. 'V' shaped structures in rivers could be as long as 60m and worked by directing fish towards fish traps or nets. Such fish traps were evidently controvercial in medieval England, the Magna Carta includes a clause requiring that they be removed:

Related Topics:
Fishing weir - Magna Carta

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

:All fish-weirs shall be removed from the Thames, the Medway, and throughout the whole of England, except on the sea coast. http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/magnacarta.html

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Basket weir fish traps were widely used they are shown in medieval illustrations and surviving examples have been found. Basket weirs are about 2m long comprise two wicker cones, one inside the other - easy to get into and hard to get out. http://www.le.ac.uk/ulas/annualreports/ar99-00/hemington/hemington.html

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Pot traps are typically used to catch Crustaceans such as crabs, lobsters and crayfish. Pot traps such as the Lobster trap may be constructed in various shapes, each is a mesh box designed with a convoluted entrance that makes entry much easier than exit. The pots are baited and lowered into the water and checked daily.

Related Topics:
Crustaceans - Crabs - Lobsters - Crayfish - Lobster trap

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Trained animals

In China and Japan the practice of Cormorant fishing is thought to date back some 1300 years. Fishermen use the natural fish-hunting instincts of the Cormorants to catch fish, but a metal ring placed round the bird's neck prevents large, valuable fish being swallowed. The fish are instead collected by the fisherman. http://www.city.gifu.gifu.jp/kankou/08_eng_01.html

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Dating from the 1500s in Portugal, Portuguese Water Dogs were used by fishermen to send messages between boats, to retrieve fish and articles from the water, and to guard the fishing boats.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Toxins

Many hunter gatherer cultures use poisonous plants to stun fish so that they become easy to collect by hand. Some of these poisons paralyze the fish, others are though to work by removing oxygen from the water. http://tk.agron.ntu.edu.tw/Segawa1/fishing_poison.htm

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Cyanides are used to capture live fish near coral reefs for the aquarium and seafood market. This illegal fishing occurs near mainly in the Philippines, Indonesia and the Caribbean to supply the 2 million marine aquarium owners in the world. Many fish caught in this fashion die either immediately or in shipping. Those that survive often die from shock or from massive digestive damage. The high concentrations of cyanide on reefs so harvested has also resulted in cases of cyanide poisioning among local fishermen and their families.

Related Topics:
Cyanides - Coral reef - Aquarium - Philippines - Indonesia - Caribbean

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Explosives

Dynamite or blast fishing, is done easily and cheaply with dynamite or homemade bombs made from locally available materials. Fish are killed by the shock waves from the blast and are then skimmed off the surface or collected from the bottom. These explosions indiscriminatly kill large numbers of fish and other marine organisms in the vicinity and destroy the physical environment. Explosions are particularly damaging to coral reefs. http://stigmes.gr/br/brpages/articles/dinambr.htm

Related Topics:
Dynamite - Homemade bombs

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~