Fishing

Stilts fishermen, Sri Lanka

Fishing with nets, Mexico

Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fishing can be done in the sea, or in a lake or river, and by boat or from the shore.

Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping.

The term fishing may be used for catching other aquatic animals such as molluscs, cephalopods, crustaceans, and echinoderms. The term is not normally used for catching farmed fish. With aquatic mammals, such as whales, the term whaling is better.

According to FAO statistics, the total number of commercial fishermen and fish farmers is estimated to be 38 million. Fisheries and aquaculture provide direct and indirect employment to over 500 million people in developing countries.^[1] In 2005, the worldwide per capita consumption of fish captured from wild fisheries was 14.4 kilograms, with 7.4 kilograms more got from fish farms.^[2] In addition to providing food, modern fishing is also a recreational sport.

1. ↑ Fisheries and Aquaculture in our Changing Climate^{[permanent dead link]} Policy brief of the FAO for the UNFCCC COP-15 in Copenhagen, December 2009.
2. ↑ "Fisheries and Aquaculture". FAO. Retrieved 1 July 2012.