National Fishing Day

Observed annually on June 18, National Fishing Day is a great day to take time from your daily routine to find astream, a lake or pond, bait your hook, cast your line and catch a fish or two (or ten). Fishing is a recreational pastime of many, and if you’re lucky, you can bring home a fresh catch. During prehistoric times, fishing was not a recreational activity but a food source for people. Thus, it became acommercial activity during antiquity, as evidenced by the discovery of fish fossils dating back 500,000 years ago. These fossils suggest that the Homo habilis and Homo erectus were the first fishermen, usually catching fish by hand. Similarly, traditions and myths dating back thousands of years also indicate fishing was a celebrated activity. Millennia later, in 3,500 B.C., the Egyptians started using spears, nets, lines, and rods to catch fish from the Nile. Similarly, the Romans were major fish consumers and traders in the Mediterranean Basin; they fished using nets and preserved fish that wasn’t immediately consumed. Centuries later, during the Middle Ages in Europe, as feudal lords owned rivers and lakes, river fishing was regulated and permitted for people in religious communities. However, from the mid-11th century, innovation started to take hold, and thus, with the construction of ponds, fish farming began. Later, in the 15th century, when ship designs were modified, the deep-sea fishing and fish trade expanded. Fishers went further out to the sea to catch fish. Yet, it wasn’t until the appearance of the first fish trawlers in the 17th century and later the harnessing of steam power in the 19th century that the fishing trade became a billion-dollar industry and a celebrated pastime.

About Post Author