and
Neolithic period Fishing is an ancient practice that dates back to at least the beginning of the Upper
Paleolithic period about 40,000 years ago.
Isotopic analysis of the remains of
Tianyuan man, a 40,000-year-old modern human from eastern Asia, has shown that he regularly consumed freshwater fish.
Archaeology features such as
shell middens, discarded fish bones, and
cave paintings show that
seafood was important for survival and consumed in significant quantities. Fishing in Africa is evident very early on in human history.
Neanderthals were fishing by about 200,000 BC. People could have developed basketry for fish traps, using spinning and early forms of
knitting to make fishing nets During this period, most people lived a
hunter-gatherer lifestyle and were, of necessity, constantly on the move. However, where there are early examples of permanent settlements (though not necessarily permanently occupied) such as those at
Lepenski Vir, they are almost always associated with fishing as a major source of food.
Trawling The British
dogger was a very early type of sailing
trawler from the 17th century, but the modern fishing trawler was developed in the 19th century, at the English fishing port of
Brixham. By the early 19th century, the fishers at Brixham needed to expand their fishing area further than ever before due to the ongoing depletion of stocks that was occurring in the
overfished waters of
South Devon. The
Brixham trawler that evolved there was of a sleek build and had a tall
gaff rig, which gave the vessel sufficient speed to make long-distance trips out to the fishing grounds in the ocean. They were also sufficiently robust to be able to tow large trawls in deep water. The great trawling fleet that built up at Brixham earned the village the title of 'Mother of Deep-Sea Fisheries'. . The painting is now in the
National Maritime Museum. This revolutionary design made large-scale trawling in the ocean possible for the first time, resulting in a massive migration of fishers from the ports in the south of England, to villages further north, such as
Scarborough,
Hull,
Grimsby,
Harwich and
Yarmouth, that were points of access to the large fishing grounds in the
Atlantic Ocean. by the mid 19th century. An
Act of Parliament was first obtained in 1796, which authorised the construction of new quays and dredging of the Haven to make it deeper. It was only in 1846, with the tremendous expansion in the
fishing industry, that the
Grimsby Dock Company was formed. The foundation stone for the Royal Dock was laid by
Albert the
Prince consort in 1849. The dock covered and was formally opened by
Queen Victoria in 1854 as the first modern fishing port. The elegant
Brixham trawler spread across the world, influencing fishing fleets everywhere. By the end of the 19th century, there were over 3,000 fishing trawlers in commission in Britain, with almost 1,000 at Grimsby. These trawlers were sold to fishers around Europe, including from the
Netherlands and
Scandinavia. Twelve trawlers went on to form the nucleus of the German fishing fleet. The earliest steam-powered fishing boats first appeared in the 1870s and used the
trawl system of fishing as well as lines and drift nets. These were large boats, usually in length with a beam of around . They weighed 40–50 tons and travelled at . David Allen designed and made the earliest purpose-built fishing vessels in
Leith, Scotland in March 1875, when he converted a drifter to steam power. In 1877, he built the first
screw propelled steam trawler in the world. Steam trawlers were introduced at
Grimsby and
Hull in the 1880s. In 1890 it was estimated that there were 20,000 men on the North Sea. The steam drifter was not used in the herring fishery until 1897. The last sailing fishing trawler was built in 1925 in Grimsby. Trawler designs adapted as the way they were powered changed from sail to coal-fired steam by
World War I to
diesel and
turbines by the end of
World War II. In 1931, the first powered drum was created by Laurie Jarelainen. The drum was a circular device that was set to the side of the boat and would draw in the nets. Since
World War II,
radio navigation aids and
fish finders have been widely used. The first trawlers fished over the side, rather than over the
stern. The first purpose-built stern trawler was
Fairtry built in 1953 at
Aberdeen, Scotland. The ship was much larger than any other trawlers then in operation and inaugurated the era of the 'super trawler'. As the ship pulled its nets over the stern, it could lift out a much greater haul of up to 60 tons. The ship served as a basis for the expansion of 'super trawlers' around the world in the following decades. and included detailed information on fishing waters, the construction of
rods and lines, and the use of natural baits and artificial flies. Recreational fishing took a great leap forward after the
English Civil War, where a newly found interest in the activity left its mark on the many books and treatises that were written on the subject at the time.
Leonard Mascall in 1589 wrote
A booke of Fishing with Hooke and Line along with many others he produced in his life on game and wildlife in England at the time.
The Compleat Angler was written by
Izaak Walton in 1653 (although Walton continued to add to it for a quarter of a century) and described the fishing in the
Derbyshire Wye. It was a celebration of the art and spirit of fishing in prose and verse. A second part to the book was added by Walton's friend
Charles Cotton. Charles Kirby designed an improved fishing hook in 1655 that remains relatively unchanged to this day. He went on to invent the Kirby bend, a distinctive hook with an offset point, still commonly used today. from the 1760s. The 18th century was mainly an era of consolidation of the techniques developed in the previous century. Running rings began to appear along the fishing rods, which gave anglers greater control over the cast line. The rods themselves were also becoming increasingly sophisticated and specialised for different roles. Jointed rods became common from the middle of the century and
bamboo came to be used for the top section of the rod, giving it much greater strength and flexibility. The industry also became commercialised – rods and tackle were sold at the
haberdashers store. After the
Great Fire of London in 1666, artisans moved to
Redditch which became a centre of production of fishing-related products from the 1730s. Onesimus Ustonson established his shop in 1761, and his establishment remained a market leader for the next century. He received a
royal warrant from three successive monarchs starting with King
George IV. He also invented the
multiplying winch. The commercialization of the industry came at a time of expanded interest in fishing as a recreational hobby for members of the
aristocracy. The impact of the
Industrial Revolution was first felt in the manufacture of fly lines. Instead of anglers twisting their lines – a laborious and time-consuming process – the new textile spinning machines allowed for a variety of tapered lines to be easily manufactured and marketed. British fly fishing continued to develop in the 19th century, with the emergence of fly fishing clubs, along with the appearance of several books on the subject of fly tying and fly fishing techniques. By the mid to late 19th century, expanding
leisure opportunities for the middle and lower classes began to have an effect on fly fishing, which steadily grew in mass appeal. The expansion of the railway network in Britain allowed the less affluent for the first time to take weekend trips to the seaside or rivers for fishing. Richer
hobbyists ventured further abroad. The large rivers of
Norway replete with large stocks of
salmon began to attract fishers from England in large numbers in the middle of the century – ''Jones's guide to Norway, and salmon-fisher's pocket companion'', published in 1848, was written by Frederic Tolfrey and was a popular guide to the country. The material used for the rod itself changed from the heavy woods native to England to lighter and more elastic varieties imported from abroad, especially from South America and the
West Indies.
Bamboo rods became the generally favoured option from the mid-19th century, and several strips of the material were cut from the cane, milled into shape, and then glued together to form the light, strong, hexagonal rods with a solid core that were superior to anything that preceded them.
George Cotton and his predecessors fished their flies with long rods, and light lines allowing the wind to do most of the work of getting the fly to the fish. . Tackle design began to improve in the 1880s. The introduction of new woods to the manufacture of fly rods made it possible to cast flies into the wind on silk lines, instead of
horse hair. These lines allowed for a much greater casting distance. However, these early fly lines proved troublesome as they had to be coated with various dressings to make them float and needed to be taken off the reel and dried every four hours or so to prevent them from becoming waterlogged. Another negative consequence was that it became easy for the much longer line to get into a tangle – this was called a 'tangle' in Britain, and a 'backlash' in the US. This problem spurred the invention of the regulator to evenly spool the line out and prevent tangling.
Albert Illingworth, 1st Baron Illingworth a textiles magnate, patented the modern form of fixed-spool spinning reel in 1905. When casting Illingworth's reel design, the line was drawn off the leading edge of the spool but was restrained and rewound by a line pickup, a device which orbits around the stationary spool. Because the line did not have to pull against a rotating spool, much lighter lures could be cast than with conventional reels. The development of inexpensive
fiberglass rods, synthetic fly lines, and monofilament leaders in the early 1950s revived the popularity of fly fishing. ,
Japan. ==Techniques==