| Picture it: a father and son waiting on a harbor over a | | | | can catch other animals, like sharks or baby whales.o |
| lake, their bare legs dangling over the water, each of | | | | A more damaging version of trawling is dredging, |
| them holding a fishing rod. It's a scene bound to endear | | | | where the seabed is disrupted in the hopes of getting |
| children and excite families, simply because fishing has | | | | more fish to swim nearer to the surface and into the |
| long been used by humans for both relaxation and | | | | net.o A common method of catching fish is by using a |
| industry. | | | | fishing line, with bait attached at the end. This is done |
| Put simply, fishing covers all activities involved in hunting | | | | usually for recreational purposes, and involves some |
| and catching fish and other aquatic animals such as | | | | skill and "getting the fish to bite." A variation of this |
| octopus, turtles, shellfish, and squid. Fishing first began | | | | method is fly fishing, in which colorful, feathery objects |
| about ten thousand years ago. Fishing was considered | | | | serve as lure, and where a fishing line is cast at a |
| a game for the lower classes in ancient Greece, but | | | | certain angle onto the surface of a body of water. |
| the Chinese regarded the skill as a gift from the | | | | The fly fishing enthusiast often stands knee-deep in |
| gods.The ancient Egyptians were known for their | | | | the water while this is done.o Ice fishing is a variation of |
| fishing implements and improvised fishing methods, | | | | line fishing, this time done through a hole on the surface |
| most of which are captured in illustrations in the | | | | of an iced body of water. Ice fishers cut out a hole in |
| pyramids, and in papyrus documents. | | | | the ice to expose the still liquid water, and the fish |
| Fishing today can take on many forms, from the | | | | swimming below.o Some fishermen lay out fish traps, |
| simple boat on the lake, and occasional conversation | | | | which are contraptions meant to lure fish and cage |
| amongst friends or relatives; to the larger, industrial | | | | them in, so that fishermen may take them out much |
| boat in the middle of the sea, with its gigantic net. | | | | later.o Not all fishing methods are mild. Some fishermen, |
| The following are a few types of common fishing | | | | in their wish to catch more fish, use toxins such as |
| methods.o With the proper skill, and with only a few | | | | cyanide to poison whole populations of fish, which they |
| pieces of equipment, some fishermen can catch fish | | | | can then gather by hand. This method, however, |
| by hand - without the fish even slipping out! Hand | | | | poisons even juvenile fish, leaving no more fish for the |
| fishing is still practiced in some villages around the | | | | next generation, and no harvest for the next catch. |
| world, where shallow waters near rivers, or by the | | | | Another dangerous method involves the use of |
| sea, can be a source of fish for the evening's meal.o | | | | dynamite. This is common in the waters of Southeast |
| Using a spear, a bow, and a keen eye, some | | | | Asia, where fish often hide in corals.o Electrofishing is a |
| fishermen can engage in spear and bow fishing. This | | | | new, non-invasive method of catching fish. It involves |
| requires great strength and dexterity, and it has been | | | | passing electric currents through water, prompting a |
| practiced for centuries. In fact, with the proper | | | | fish to be lured to the source of the current, then |
| equipment, fishermen can use only a bow and arrow | | | | disabling it for the moment so that it may be |
| to catch fish!o Other fishermen cast nets out in their | | | | harvested. Electrofishing, though relatively simple, needs |
| body of water of choice. Such a method, sometimes | | | | skill to assure that no unintended animals will be |
| known as cast net fishing, can allow farmers a larger | | | | harmed. |
| catch - this, however, can also lead to them catching | | | | Fishing is always an exciting and relaxing activity - and |
| unwanted (or unintended) animals or even objects. | | | | it can lead to a delicious dinner too! If it is done with |
| These include dolphins, seals, or even trash.o Larger | | | | minimal damage to the environment, then there will |
| fishing vessels engage in trawling, or dragging a large | | | | surely be enough fish left for fishing to endure in the |
| net through the sea, allowing the net to catch | | | | generations to come. |
| whatever it can gather. Like cast net fishing, trawling | | | | |