Types of Fishing

To catch the various species of fish, fisherman must use appropriate nets or lines
and understand the behaviors of the fish in question

On this basis the fishing industry can be divided into four main types:

i. Pelagic Fishing:

Pelagic fish are tiny and swim near the surface of the water. They are also seen in
huge shoals. They can be captured along the coast or far out at sea. Drifting and
seining are the most frequent ways for catching pelagic fish; drifters are bigger
and operate far from land, whilst seining is carried out by smaller vessels closer to
the coast. In certain locations, the water is shale.

Because migration is one of the most significant behaviors of pelagic fish, pelagic
fishing is generally a seasonal activity. Herring, for example, migrate north to
south in the waters off the eastern coast of Britain from July to the end of
October.

They are caught off the Orkneys and Shetlands in June, off the Scottish coast by
August, around the Humber in September, and in the English Channel by the end
of the year.

Similarly the pilchard is a summer visitor to south-west England, and the mackerel
also comes to British waters in summer. The regular migratory habits of the
pelagic fish impart an annual rhythm to the fishermen’s activities. They are able
to make preparations for the catch, and fishing ports can get ready to handle the
peak hauls. Even farmers can adjust their farm work to the fishing season and
many of them take to part-time fishing, e.g. in Norway.

ii. Demersal Fishing:

Demersal fish (also known as white fish) dwell on the seafloor in shallow waters.
They like colder waters and are most commonly seen at depths of approximately
40 metres (130 feet) where sunlight may just barely penetrate. They graze on
smaller fish or marine creatures and, unlike pelagic fish, are not found in huge
shoals or have regular migratory patterns.

od is by far the most common and the most valuable of demersal fishes.

Trawling, where the sea-bed is smooth, or long-lining, where the bed is rocky or
there are many wrecks, are the chief methods of catching demersal fish. Fishing
trips are usually longer, lasting several weeks or months. Larger, more powerful
boats, often equipped for processing and storing the fish, and a large crew are
essential in demersal fishing.

iii. Inshore Fishing:

Fishing close to the shores, in shallow, sheltered, coastal waters and the lower
stretches of rivers is important in both tropical and temperate regions. People of
almost every coastal village in the world practise some form of fishing, usually
within 5 km (3 miles) of the coastline.

The greatest number of part-time fishermen is found in inshore fishing and they
supply fish for the daily food of the family or for the village market. Their methods
are often less efficient than those used at sea though in some places, especially in
Europe and North America, inshore fishing is both efficient and highly
commercialized.

Casting nets, hooks and lines, trap nets, pound nets, gill nets and a wide range of
wooden, bamboo, rattan or wicker-work traps are used. Some tropical fishermen
also use sunken set nets, placing a conical net, held firmly by poles driven into the
ground, at river estuaries. Large traps of kelongs made of stakes driven into the
sea-floor may also be used along the coast, especially in South-East Asia, and fish
are caught when the tide goes out.

A few pelagic and demersal fish are caught in inshore fishing but more important
are the anadromous fish of which salmon is the leading species. Salmon are
caught on their way back from the sea to their spawning grounds in the rivers.
They return in large shoals in the same way as they first descended the streams
after hatching in the head-waters.
Salmon are caught by haul seines and purse seines in coastal waters, while set-gill
nets and drift-gill nets are placed across rivers and in estuarine waters. Local
people also use a wide range of traps and hand-lines to catch salmon in the rivers.
Trawlers also catch salmon at sea or in coastal waters but this is very destructive
because many immature fish are killed.

A multitude of shellfish are harvested by inshore fishermen. These include the

various types of crustaceans such as shrimps, prawns, lobsters and crabs, and
molluscs like oysters, clams, cockles, mussels, limpets, whelks, winkles and
scallops. Crustaceans are caught in a variety of traps.

Molluscs are collected from ‘beds’ where they cling to the rocks, or, when they
are farmed, are kept in submerged wire boxes. Shellfish are very popular and
have a world-wide market. They are thus commercially very important and
constitute nearly 10 per cent of the world’s annual fish haul.

iv. Freshwater Fishing:

Freshwater fish are caught in streams, rivers, lakes, ponds and padi-fields. They
are caught to supplement the diet of local people and are seldom exported.
Salmon is the only exception. While most salmon are caught near the coast some
may reach the higher reaches of rivers and be caught by rod and line or other
methods. The Great Lakes of North America once contained large quantities of
trout and Lake White-fish together with the pink and red salmon, but pollution
has much reduced their numbers.