Information AboutFisheries |
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A fishery (plural: fisheries) is an organized effort by humans to catch Fish or other aquatic species, an activity known as Fishing . Generally, a fishery exists for the purpose of providing human Food , although other aims are possible (such as Sport or Recreational Fishing ), or obtaining Ornamental Fish or fish products such as Fish Oil . Industrial Fisheries are fisheries where the catch is not intended for direct human consumption (Castro and Huber 2003). The fishing effort is generally centered on either a particular Ecoregion or a particular species or type of fish or aquatic animal, and usually fisheries are differentiated by both criteria. Examples would be the Salmon fishery of Alaska , the Cod fishery off the Lofoten islands or the Tuna fishery of the Eastern Pacific . Most fisheries are Marine , rather than Freshwater ; most marine fisheries are based near the Coast . This is not only because harvesting from relatively shallow waters is easier than in the open ocean, but also because fish are much more abundant near the Coastal Shelf , due to Coastal Upwelling and the abundance of Nutrients available there. boat - Ostend , Belgium]] FISHERIES HISTORICALLY bringing in fish, and splitting for salting]] One of the world’s longest lasting trade histories is the Trade Of Dry Cod from the Lofoten area to the southern parts of Europe , Italy , Spain and Portugal . The trade in cod started during the Viking period or before, has been going on for more than 1000 years and is still important. In India, the Pandyas , a classical Dravidian Tamil kingdom, were known for the pearl fishery as early as the 1st century BC. Their seaport Tuticorin was known for deep sea Pearl Fishing . The Paravas , a Tamil caste centred in Tuticorin, developed a rich community because of their pearl trade, navigation knowledge and fisheries. FISHERIES IN THE PRESENT DAY Today, fisheries are estimated to provide 16% of the world population's Protein , and that figure is considerably elevated in some Developing Nations and in regions that depend heavily on the sea. According to the Food And Agriculture Organization of the United Nations , total world capture fisheries production in 2000 was 86 million tons (FAO 2002). 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. Of that production, over 90% was marine and less than 10% was inland. There are large and important fisheries worldwide for various species of fish, Mollusk s and Crustacean s. However, a very small number of species support the majority of the world’s fisheries. Some of these species are Herring , Cod , Anchovy , Tuna , Flounder , Mullet , Squid , Shrimp , Salmon , Crab , Lobster , Oyster and Scallop s. All except these last four provided a worldwide catch of well over a Million Tonne s in 1999, with Herring and Sardine s together providing a catch of over 22 million metric tons in 1999. Many other species as well are fished in smaller numbers. METHODS A fishery can consist of one man with a small Boat hand-casting nets, to a huge fleet of trawlers processing tons of fish per day. Some techniques are ( Bottom -) Trawling , Seining , Driftnetting , Handlining , Longlining , Gillnetting , Dragger , Tile , and Diving . FISHERIES AND COMMUNITIES For communities, fisheries provide not only a source of food and work but also a Community and Cultural identity. {Link without Title} Fishery in Puget Sound , WA., no date]] This shows up in Art , Literature , and Tradition s. FISHERIES SCIENCE Fisheries science is the academic discipline of managing and understanding fisheries. It draws on the disciplines of Biology , Ecology , Oceanography , Economics and Management to attempt to provide an integrated picture of fisheries. It is typically taught in a University setting, and can be the focus of an Undergraduate , Master's or Ph.D. program. In some cases new disciplines have emerged, as in the case of Bioeconomics . A few universities also offer fully integrated programs in fisheries science. See also: International Council For The Exploration Of The Sea IMPORTANT ISSUES AND TOPICS IN FISHERIES There are many environmental issues surrounding fishing. These can be classed into issues that involve the availability of fish to be caught, such as Overfishing , Sustainable Fisheries , and Fisheries Management ; and issues surrounding the impact of fishing on the environment, such as By-catch . These fishery conservation issues are generally considered part of Marine Conservation , and many of these issues are addressed in fisheries science programs. There is an apparent and growing disparity between the availability of fish to be caught and humanity’s desire to catch them, a problem that is exacerbated by the rapidly growing World Population . As with some other Environmental Issues , often the people engaged in the activity of fishing – the fishers – and the Scientist s who study fisheries science, who are often acting as fishery managers, are in conflict with each other, as the dictates of economics mean that fishers have to keep fishing for their livelihood, but the dictates of Sustainable Science mean that some fisheries must close or reduce to protect the health of the population of the fish themselves. It is starting to be realized, however, that these two camps must work together to ensure fishery health through the 21st century and beyond. The cover story of the May 15, 2003 issue of the science journal ''Nature'' – with Dr. Ransom A. Myers , an internationally prominent fisheries biologist (Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada) as the lead author – was devoted to a summary of the scientific information. The story asserted that, as compared with 1950 levels, only a remnant (in some instances, as little as 10%) of all large ocean-fish stocks are left in the seas. These large ocean fish are the species at the top of the food chains (e.g., tuna, cod, among others). However, this article was subsequently criticized as being fundamentally flawed, although much debate still exists (Walters 2003; Hampton et al. 2005; Maunder et al. 2006; Polacheck 2006;Sibert et al. 2006) and the majority of fisheries scientists now consider the results irrelevant with respect to large Pelagic s (the open seas).Changes in the Biomass of Large Pelagic Predators {Link without Title} In mid October 2006, U.S. President Bush joined other world leaders calling for a moratorium on deep-sea Trawling , a practice shown to often have harmful effects on sea habitat, hence on fish populations. |
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