Aquatic Science: Seafood & Fisheries

Types of Fishing Techniques

• Fishing techniques can be classified into non-destructive and destructive categories.
• Non-destructive techniques can become destructive if not carried out properly.

Non-Destructive Fishing Techniques

• Recreational Fishing:
  • Uses hook and line method.
  • Done for leisure, family, and friends' weekends and holidays.
  • Examples include annual competitions like 'Pertandingan Memancing Joran' and Bill Fishing Festival.
• Subsistence Fishing:
  • Uses hook and line, cast net, gill net, and manual harvesting of shellfish and seaweed.
  • Carried out in rivers, river mouths, estuaries, and coastal areas.
  • Done for domestic consumption or small side income.
• Commercial Fishing:
  • Involves catching fish and other seafood from wild sources for commercial profit.
  • Done on a large scale, often far into the ocean, under adverse conditions.
  • Provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world.

Commercial Fishing

• Large scale commercial fishing is also known as industrial fishing.
• Harvests a wide variety of animals, including large and important fisheries worldwide.
• Examples of species caught include herrings, sardines, cod, anchovy, tuna, flounder, crabs, and lobster.
• Methods used are very efficient, including:
  • Large nets (trawl, seine nets, dredges, gill nets, and traps).
  • Factory ships with extensive fish processing facilities for processing and freezing fish.

Destructive Fishing Techniques

• Practices that result in irreversible damage to aquatic habitats and ecosystems.
• Examples include:
  • Dynamite or blast fishing, which kills many fish and other marine organisms.
  • Bottom trawling, which damages or destroys the environment.
  • Cyanide fishing, which kills coral and wreaks havoc on marine life.
• Destructive fishing is common in poor and developing countries.