Fishing Methods
There are a wide variety of fishing methods used. Each has it own environment impact that varies on intensity. The table below highlights a fishing method along with its environmental repercussions.
| Method | Equipment uses | Type of fish | Environmental Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pole/troll | Fishing rod/pole and bait | Open ocean swimmers to bottom dwellers | Low environmental impact. Reduced chance of bycatch |
| Purse seining | A large net is used to surround fish. The bottom of the net is pulled close to push the fish to the middle | Schooling fish | Higher chance of bycatch |
| Gillnetting | Uses a system of nets with floats and weights. The nets are anchored to the sea floor and allowed to float at the surface | Sardines, salmon, cod | Animals cannot see the net therefore, they swim into it and are tangled. Huge risk of bycatch. |
| Longline fishing | Fishing line cast out from the boat. Can range from one mile to 50 miles. | Pelagic fish | Higher risk of bycatch. Fisherman use weights to sink their lines, which reduce the risk of bycatch. |
| Traps and pots | Wire or wooden cages attached to the sea floor; fishing weirs | Lobsters, crab, shrimp | The traps keep the fish alive. Lower chance of bycatch. |
| Trolling | Line towed behind the boat | Salmon, mahi-mahi, tuna | Release bycatch |
| Harpooning | Harpoon | Large pelagic fish | Fisherman have to visualize prey. No chance of bycatch. |
| Trawls and dredges | Use huge nets that can either drag on the bottom of the sea floor or in the middle of the surface or the floor. | Pollock, cod, flounder, shrimp | Large number of bycatch. Can damage the sea floor. |
Read more about this topic: Sustainable Seafood
Famous quotes containing the words fishing and/or methods:
“The hill farmer ... always seems to make out somehow with his corn patch, his few vegetables, his rifle, and fishing rod. This self-contained economy creates in the hillman a comparative disinterest in the world’s affairs, along with a disdain of lowland ways. “I don’t go to question the good Lord in his wisdom,” runs the phrasing attributed to a typical mountaineer, “but I jest cain’t see why He put valleys in between the hills.””
—Administration in the State of Arka, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)
“Cold and hunger seem more friendly to my nature than those methods which men have adopted and advise to ward them off.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)