Fishing industry in the Caribbean

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Line fishing on Cobblers Reef Line Fishing on Cobblers Reef.JPG
Line fishing on Cobblers Reef
Fishing at Mayaro Bay, Trinidad and Tobago Fishing at Mayaro 120.JPG
Fishing at Mayaro Bay, Trinidad and Tobago
Caribbean fishing boats at Aruba Caribbean fishing boats.jpg
Caribbean fishing boats at Aruba
Fishing boats in the harbour of Petite Riviere de Nippes, Haiti Harbour Petite Riviere de Nippes Haiti.jpg
Fishing boats in the harbour of Petite Rivière de Nippes, Haiti

Although the West Indies has limited resources in terms of developing a large-scale fishing industry, the value of fish and sea products as a source of food has long been recognized. All Caribbean territories therefore have fishing industries.

Contents

Most Caribbean fishermen ply their trade from small boats (4–11 meters). These small craft, often without protection from sun or rain, are forced to remain very close to shore, seldom going more than 16 kilometers offshore.

Methods

Several methods for catching fish are used:

  1. Fillet (gill) nets
  2. Trawling
  3. Line fishing
  4. Seining
  5. Fish pots and reels.

The method of fishing depends on the type and size of the fish to be caught. Trawling is used to catch shrimp, carite, snapper and cavali. The main catches from seine and gill nets are king fish, shark and carite. Fish pot catches are red snappers and jacks. Fishing is a year-round activity in the Caribbean and it directly employs thousands of people.

Sales and marketing

A number of different methods of selling are used in the Caribbean. Most small-scale fishermen take some of the catch for their families and sell the rest at the beach. If there is a delay between catching the fish and eating it, then some form of processing has to take place. The three processing methods that are common in the Caribbean are:

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fishing</span> Activity of trying to catch fish

Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques include hand-gathering, spearing, netting, angling, shooting and trapping, as well as more destructive and often illegal techniques such as electrocution, blasting and poisoning.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trawling</span> Method of catching fish

Trawling is a method of fishing that involves pulling a fishing net through the water behind one or more boats. The net used for trawling is called a trawl. This principle requires netting bags which are towed through water to catch different species of fishes or sometimes targeted species. Trawls are often called towed gear or dragged gear.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bycatch</span> Fish or other marine species that is caught unintentionally

Bycatch, in the fishing industry, is a fish or other marine species that is caught unintentionally while fishing for specific species or sizes of wildlife. Bycatch is either the wrong species, the wrong sex, or is undersized or juveniles of the target species. The term "bycatch" is also sometimes used for untargeted catch in other forms of animal harvesting or collecting. Non-marine species that are caught but regarded as generally "undesirable" are referred to as "rough fish" and "coarse fish".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fishing trawler</span> Commercial vessel designed to operate fishing trawls

A fishing trawler is a commercial fishing vessel designed to operate fishing trawls. Trawling is a method of fishing that involves actively dragging or pulling a trawl through the water behind one or more trawlers. Trawls are fishing nets that are pulled along the bottom of the sea or in midwater at a specified depth. A trawler may also operate two or more trawl nets simultaneously.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gillnetting</span> Type of fishing net

Gillnetting is a fishing method that uses gillnets: vertical panels of netting that hang from a line with regularly spaced floaters that hold the line on the surface of the water. The floats are sometimes called "corks" and the line with corks is generally referred to as a "cork line." The line along the bottom of the panels is generally weighted. Traditionally this line has been weighted with lead and may be referred to as "lead line." A gillnet is normally set in a straight line. Gillnets can be characterized by mesh size, as well as colour and type of filament from which they are made. Fish may be caught by gillnets in three ways:

  1. Wedged – held by the mesh around the body.
  2. Gilled – held by mesh slipping behind the opercula.
  3. Tangled – held by teeth, spines, maxillaries, or other protrusions without the body penetrating the mesh.
<span class="mw-page-title-main">Commercial fishing</span> Catching seafood for commercial profit

Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for commercial profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice it as an industry must often pursue fish far into the ocean under adverse conditions. Large-scale commercial fishing is also known as industrial fishing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fishing net</span> Net used for fishing

A fishing net is a net used for fishing. Nets are devices made from fibers woven in a grid-like structure. Some fishing nets are also called fish traps, for example fyke nets. Fishing nets are usually meshes formed by knotting a relatively thin thread. Early nets were woven from grasses, flaxes and other fibrous plant material. Later cotton was used. Modern nets are usually made of artificial polyamides like nylon, although nets of organic polyamides such as wool or silk thread were common until recently and are still used.

<i>Arripis</i> Genus of fishes

Arripis is a genus of marine fishes from Australia and New Zealand, known as Australian salmon, kahawai and Australian herring. They are the only members of the family Arripidae. Despite the common name, Australian salmon are not related to the salmon family Salmonidae of the Northern Hemisphere, just as Australian herring are not related to herring of the Northern Hemisphere, but belong to the order Perciformes of perch-like fishes. Australian salmon were named so by early European settlers after their superficial resemblance to the salmoniform fishes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lobster fishing</span> Aspect of the fishing industry

Lobsters are widely fished around the world for their meat. They are often hard to catch in large numbers, but their large size can make them a profitable catch. Although the majority of the targeted species are tropical, the majority of the global catch is in temperate waters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seine fishing</span> Method of fishing with a net

Seine fishing is a method of fishing that employs a surrounding net, called a seine, that hangs vertically in the water with its bottom edge held down by weights and its top edge buoyed by floats. Seine nets can be deployed from the shore as a beach seine, or from a boat.

The Scottish east coast fishery has been in existence for more than a thousand years, spanning the Viking Age right up to the present day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fishing vessel</span> Boat or ship used to catch fish on a body of water

A fishing vessel is a boat or ship used to catch fish in the sea, or on a lake or river. Many different kinds of vessels are used in commercial, artisanal and recreational fishing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Factory ship</span> Oceangoing fish processing vessel

A factory ship, also known as a fish processing vessel, is a large ocean-going vessel with extensive on-board facilities for processing and freezing caught fish or whales. Modern factory ships are automated and enlarged versions of the earlier whalers and their use for fishing has grown dramatically. Some factory ships are equipped to serve as a mother ship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fishing techniques</span> Methods for catching sea creatures, especially fish

Fishing techniques are methods for catching fish. The term may also be applied to methods for catching other aquatic animals such as molluscs and edible marine invertebrates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bokkoms</span> Whole, salted and dried mullet

Bokkoms is whole, salted and dried mullet, and is a well-known delicacy from the West Coast region of South Africa. This salted fish is dried in the sun and wind and is eaten after peeling off the skin. In some cases it is also smoked. It is sometimes referred to as "fish biltong".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fishing in Uganda</span>

There are two major sources of fish in Uganda; one is from aquaculture, the other from fishing in rivers and lakes. The latter has made up the largest and most significant share of all fishing. Open water covers 15.3 percent of Uganda's surface and comprises five major lakes which are the main sources of fish in the country. Lake Victoria continues to be the most important water body in Uganda both in size and contribution to the total fish catch, followed by Lake Albert and Lake Kyoga.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to fishing:

This is a glossary of terms used in fisheries, fisheries management and fisheries science.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fishing in Cornwall</span> Economic activity

Fishing in Cornwall, England, UK, has traditionally been one of the main elements of the economy of the county. Pilchard fishing and processing was a thriving industry in Cornwall from around 1750 to around 1880, after which it went into an almost terminal decline. During the 20th century the varieties of fish taken became much more diverse and crustaceans such as crab and lobster are now significant. Much of the catch is exported to France due to the higher prices obtainable there. Though fishing has been significantly damaged by overfishing, the Southwest Handline Fishermen's Association has started to revive the fishing industry. As of 2007, stocks were improving. The Cornwall Sea Fisheries Committee is one of 12 committees responsible for managing the corresponding Sea Fisheries District. The Isles of Scilly Sea Fisheries Committee is responsible for the Scilly district.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aberdeen floating village</span> Floating Village in Southern District, Hong Kong

Aberdeen floating village is located at the Aberdeen Harbour in the Southern District of Hong Kong. The harbour is known to contain 600 junks and is home to 6,000 people.

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