FISHERIES

This article appears in Volume V10, Page 429 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: FAT-FLA

FISHERIES ,' a general term for the various operations engaged in for the capture ofsuch aquatic creatures as are useful to man. From time immemorial fish have been captured by various forms of spears, nets, hooks and more elaborate apparatus, and a historical description of the methods and appliances that have been used would comprise a considerable portion of \a treatise on the history of man. For the most part the operations of fishing have been comparable with those of primitive hunting rather than with agriculture; they have taken the least possible account of considerations affecting the

supply

SUPPLY (through Fr. from Lat. supplere, to fill up)

; when one locality has been fished out, another has been resorted to. The increasing pressure on every source of food, and the enormous improvements in the catching power of the engines involved, has made some kind of regulation and

control

CONTROL (Fr. contrdle, older form contre rolle, from Med. Lat. contra-rotulus, a counter roll or copy of a document used to check the original; there is no instance in English of the use of " control " in this, its literal, meaning)

inevitable, with the result that in practically every civilized country there exists some authority for the investigation and regulation of fisheries.
The annexed table shows the department of state and the
The early years of the 2gth century witnessed another great expansion of the sea fisheries of the United Kingdom. The herring' fishery has been revolutionized partly by the successful introduction of steam drifters, which have markedly increased the aggregate catching power, and partly by the prosecution ofd the fishery on one part or other of the British coasts during the greater part. of the year.. The crews of many Scottish vessels which formerly worked at the herring and line fisheries in alternate seasons of the year now devote their energies almost entirely to the herring fishery, which they pursue in

nomad

NOMAD (Gr. voľas, voľabes, wandering)

fleets around all the coasts of Great Britain. The

East

EAST
EAST, ALFRED (1849- )

Anglian drifters carry on their operations at different seasons of the year from

Shetland

SHETLAND, or ZETLAND

in the north (for herrings) to Newlyn in the west (for mackerel). In Scotland the value of the nets employed on steam drifters has increased from 3000 in 1899 to 6r,000 in 1906, and the average annual catch of herrings has increased from about four to about five million cwts. during the past ten years. In England also the annual catch of herrings, which reached a total of two million cwts. for the first time in 1899, has exceeded three millions in each year from 1902 to 1905.
In steam trawling also great enterprise has been shown. In 5906 Messrs Hellyer of Hull launched a new steam trawling

fleet

FLEET

of 50 vessels for working the North Sea grounds, and the delivery of new steam trawlers at

Grimsby

GRIMSBY, or GREAT GRIMSBY

was greater than at any previous period, these vessels being designed more especially to exploit the distant fishing grounds, the range of which has been extended from Morocco to the White Sea. About too vessels were added to the

Grimsby

GRIMSBY, or GREAT GRIMSBY

fleet

FLEET

in the course of twelve months. These new vessels measure about 140 ft. in length and over 20 ft. in beam, and exceed 250 tons gross tonnage, the accommodation both for fish and crews being considerably in excess of that provided in vessels of this class hitherto.
Returns of the steam trawlers registered in 1907 in the

chief

CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

European countries show the expanse of this industry, and the
Administration of Fisheries.
Norway. Sweden. Denmark. Germany. Holland. Belgium.
Department of State Trade and In- Agriculture. Agriculture. Imperial De- Agriculture. Agriculture and
Approximate Annual Expenditure dustry and 5,500 10,200 12,500 Woods and
1. Administration Agriculture. 4,500 6,300 2,500 Forests.
2. Scientific Fishery Research . 15,000 1,000
5,000
partment of
Interior.
Conducted by
Maritime
States
27,950
Canada. U.S. America. England and Scotland. Ireland.
Wales.
Department of State Marine and Fish- Bureau of Fisheries Agriculture and Fishery Board. Agriculture and
Approximate Annual Expenditure eries. under Commerce Fisheries. Technical In-
i. Administration and Labour. 8,000 struction.
2. Scientific Fishery Research 14,000
(expended through
agents)
i59,000 Conducted by 13,000 to,000
48,000 Coastal States 800
141,000
approximate expenditure on fisheries in some of the

chief

CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

countries of the world. The figures are only approximate and are based on the expenditure for 1907. In the case of England and Wales the expenditure is not complete, as under the Sea Fisheries Regulation Act of 1888 the whole of the coast of England and Wales could be placed under local fisheries committees with power to levy rates for fishery purposes, and in a certain number of districts advantage has been taken of this act. But even with this addition, British expenditure on fisheries is less than that undertaken by most of the countries of northern Europe, although British fisheries are much more valuable than those of all the rest of Europe together.
' For fisheries in the cases of CORAL,

OYSTER

OYSTER

, PuARL, SALMON, SPONGES and WHALE, see these articles; for fishing as a sport see

End of Article: FISHERIES

If you wish, you can link directly to this article.

<a href="http://jcsm.org/StudyCenter/Encyclopedia/FAT_FLA/FISHERIES.html">
FISHERIES
</a>

(Previous)
FISHER, JOHN ARBUTHNOT FISHER, 1ST BARON

(Next)
FISHERY (LAW OF)

JCSM was founded in 1997 and exists to help the community and bring people into a life-changing and productive relationship with Jesus Christ. JCSM offers over 200,000 free web pages, including its weekly inspirational emails that were sent continuously for over a decade.

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries
P.O. Box 9297
San Diego, CA 92169
1-888-887-0417 or Email