View source for Commercial fishing

{{Short description|Catching seafood for commercial profit}}
[[File:Elbe in Cuxhaven - GRE-33 Poseidon (ship, 1971) - by-RaBoe 001.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Commercial [[demersal fish]]ing vessel in the North Sea in June 2007]]
'''Commercial fishing''' is the activity of catching [[fish]] and other [[seafood]] for [[Commerce|commercial]] [[Profit (economics)|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 called [[industrial fishing]].

The major fishing industries are not only owned by major corporations but by small families as well.<ref name="ender">{{cite journal|last1=Endter-Wada |first1=Joanna | last2 = Keenan | first2 = Sean | name-list-style = vanc |title=Adaptations by Long-Term Commercial Fishing Families in the California Bight: Coping with Changing Coastal Ecological and Social Systems |journal=Human Organization |year=2005 |volume=64 |issue=3 |pages=225–237|doi=10.17730/humo.64.3.0c2uc20ct6mgdmjf }}</ref>  In order to adapt to declining fish populations and increased demand, many commercial fishing operations have reduced the sustainability of their harvest by fishing further down the food chain. This raises concern for [[Fisheries management|fishery managers]] and researchers, who highlight how further  they say that for those reasons, the sustainability of the marine ecosystems could be in danger of collapsing.<ref name="ender" />

Commercial fishermen harvest a wide variety of animals. However, a very small number of species support the majority of the world's fisheries; these include [[herring]], [[cod]], [[anchovy]], [[tuna]], [[flounder]], [[Mullet (fish)|mullet]], [[squid]], [[shrimp]], [[salmon]], [[crab]], [[lobster]], [[oyster]] and [[scallop]]s. All except these last four provided a worldwide catch of well over a [[million]] [[tonne]]s in 1999, with [[herring]] and [[sardine]]s together providing a catch of over 22 million metric tons in 1999. Many other species are fished in smaller numbers.

In 2016, of the 171 million tonnes of fish caught, about 88 percent or over 151 million tonnes were utilized for direct human consumption. This share has increased significantly in recent decades, as it was 67 percent in the 1960s.<ref name="InBrief">{{Cite book|url=http://www.fao.org/3/ca0191en/ca0191en.pdf|title=In brief, The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture, 2018|publisher=FAO|year=2018}}</ref> In 2016, the greatest part of the 12 percent used for non-food purposes (about 20 million tonnes) was reduced to fishmeal and fish oil (74 percent or 15 million tonnes), while the rest (5 million tonnes) was largely utilized as material for direct feeding in aquaculture and raising of livestock and fur animals, in culture (e.g. fry, fingerlings or small adults for ongrowing), as bait, in pharmaceutical uses and for ornamental purposes.<ref name="InBrief" />

== Economics ==

The industry, in 2006, also managed to generate over 185 billion dollars in sales and also provide over two million jobs in the United States, according to an economic report released by NOAA's Fisheries Service.<ref name="NOAA">{{cite web|title=New Economic Report Finds Commercial and Recreational Saltwater Fishing Generated More Than Two Million Jobs|url=http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2009/20090105_nmfseconomics.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090115013030/http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2009/20090105_nmfseconomics.html|archive-date=January 15, 2009|access-date=19 Apr 2012|publisher=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration}}</ref> Commercial fishing may offer an abundance of jobs, but the pay varies from boat to boat, season to season. Crab fisherman Cade Smith was quoted in an article by ''Business Week'' as saying, "There was always a top boat where the crew members raked in $50,000 during the three- to five-day king crab season—or $100,000 for the longer snow crab season".<ref name="Miller">{{cite web|last=Miller|first=Kerry|title=Worst Jobs with the Best Pay|url=http://www.businessweek.com/careers/content/sep2006/ca20060914_736742.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061023002014/http://www.businessweek.com/careers/content/sep2006/ca20060914_736742.htm|archive-date=October 23, 2006|access-date=19 Apr 2012|publisher=Businessweek}}</ref> That may be true, but there are also the boats who do not do well; Smith said later in the same article that his worst season left him with a loss of 500 dollars.<ref name="Miller" />

The industry has had to adapt through the years in order to keep earning a profit. A study taken on some small family-owned commercial fishing companies showed that they adapted to continue to earn a living but not necessarily make a large profit.<ref name="ender" />

Many people working in commercial fishing are self-employed, with some or all of their pay dependent on the proceeds from the sale of the fish caught.  In the UK, the technical term for this is share fisherman,<ref>{{cite web|title=Share fisherman: Income Tax and National Insurance contributions|url=https://www.gov.uk/guidance/share-fisherman-income-tax-and-national-insurance-contributions|access-date=21 August 2017|website=GOV.UK|publisher=HM Revenue and Customs}}</ref> which refers to anyone working without an employment contract, on a boat crewed by more than one person, and relying for their livelihood at least partly on a share of the profits or gross sales of the fishing boat's catch.

==Methods and gear==
[[File:Fishing-methods.png|thumb|300px|Major fishing techniques. Bottom trawling is destructive.]]

Commercial fishing uses many different methods to effectively catch a large variety of species including the use of pole and line, [[Trolling (fishing)|trolling]] with multiple lines, [[trawling]] with [[Fishing net|large nets]] such as seine-netting, and [[Fish trap|traps]] or [[Lobster pot|pots]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.msc.org/documents/fisheries-factsheets|title=Fisheries - Become MSC certified - Marine Stewardship Council|website=www.msc.org}}</ref> Sustainability of fisheries is improved by using specific equipment that eliminates or minimizes catching non-targeted species.

Fishing methods vary according to the region, the species being fished for, and the technology available to the fishermen. A commercial fishing enterprise may vary from one man with a small [[boat]] with [[Net casting|hand-casting nets]] or a few [[Lobster pot|pot traps]], to a huge fleet of [[fishing trawler|trawler]]s processing tons of fish every day.

Commercial fishing gears in use today include surrounding [[Fishing net|nets]] (e.g. purse [[Seine fishing|seine]]), seine nets (e.g. beach seine), [[trawl]]s (e.g. [[Bottom trawling|bottom trawl]]), dredges, [[Fish hook|hooks]] and lines (e.g. [[longline fishing|long line]] and [[trolling (fishing)|troll line]]), lift nets, [[gillnet]]s, entangling nets, Pole and Line, and [[fishing trap|traps]].

Commercial fishing gear is specifically designed and updated to avoid catching certain species of animal that is unwanted or endangered. Millions of dollars are spent each year in researching/developing new techniques to reduce the injury and even death of unwanted marine animals caught by the fishermen.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Werner T, Kraus S, Read A, Zollett E |title=Fishing Techniques to Reduce the Bycatch of Threatened Marine Animals |journal=Marine Technology Society Journal |year=2006 |volume=40 |issue=3 |pages=50–53 |doi=10.4031/002533206787353204 |doi-access=free }}</ref> In fact, there was a study taken in 2000 on different deterrents and how effective they are at deterring the target species. The study showed that most auditory deterrents helped prevent whales from being caught while more physical barriers helped prevent birds from getting tangled within the net.<ref>{{cite journal| vauthors = Pol M, Carr HA |title=Overview of Gear Developments and Trends in the New England Commercial Fishing Industry |journal=Northeastern Naturalist |year=2000 |volume=7 |issue=4 |pages=329–336 |doi=10.2307/3858514 |jstor=3858514 }}</ref>

==Occupational health and safety==
[[File:Trawl fishermen personal flotation devices.jpg|right|thumb|Trawl fishermen wearing personal flotation devices in a January 2009 trial]]

During 2010–2014, 188 commercial fishing fatalities occurred in the United States, with fatality rates in different fishing fleets ranging from 21 to 147 deaths per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers (FTEs), which is many times higher than the fatality rate for all U.S. workers.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Lucas DL, Case SL | title = Work-related mortality in the US fishing industry during 2000-2014: New findings based on improved workforce exposure estimates | journal = American Journal of Industrial Medicine | volume = 61 | issue = 1 | pages = 21–31 | date = January 2018 | pmid = 28833290 | pmc = 5958543 | doi = 10.1002/ajim.22761 }}</ref> Between 1919 and 2005, 4111 fishermen died in fishing related accidents in the [[United Kingdom]] industry alone.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Roberts SE | title = Britain's most hazardous occupation: commercial fishing | journal = Accident Analysis & Prevention | volume = 42 | issue = 1 | pages = 44–9 | date = January 2010 | pmid = 19887143 | doi = 10.1016/j.aap.2009.06.031 }}</ref> These deaths are generally a result of a combination of severe weather conditions, extreme fatigue because any one fisherman usually puts in a 21-hour shift, and dangerous equipment.<ref name="Miller" /><ref name="Davis">{{cite journal | vauthors = Davis ME | title = Occupational safety and regulatory compliance in US commercial fishing | journal = Archives of Environmental & Occupational Health | volume = 66 | issue = 4 | pages = 209–16 | year = 2011 | pmid = 22014193 | doi = 10.1080/19338244.2011.564237 | bibcode = 2011ArEOH..66..209D | hdl = 1912/5114 | s2cid = 29071163 | hdl-access = free }}</ref> Commercial fishing has been identified by the [[National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health]] (NIOSH) as a priority industry sector in the [[National Occupational Research Agenda]] (NORA) to identify and provide intervention strategies regarding occupational health and safety issues.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cdc.gov/nora/councils/agff/default.html|title=CDC - NIOSH - NORA Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing Sector Council|date=2018-03-21|website=www.cdc.gov|language=en-us|access-date=2018-04-07}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/programs/agff/|title=CDC - NIOSH Program Portfolio : Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing : Program Description|date=2018-02-28|website=www.cdc.gov|language=en-us|access-date=2018-04-07}}</ref>

=== Hazards and hazard controls ===
[[File:San Miguel Rescue - The Coast Guard Rescued Three Commercial Fishermen.jpg|thumb|San Miguel Rescue - The Coast Guard Rescued Three Commercial Fishermen]]
Common causes of fishing-related deaths include vessel disasters, falls overboard, and onboard injuries.<ref name="fishing_topic" />

Between 2000 and 2010, most vessel disasters often were initiated by flooding, vessel instability, and large waves, and that severe weather conditions contributed to a majority of fatal vessel disasters.<ref name="fishing_topic">{{cite web|title=Commercial Fishing Safety|url=https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/fishing/|work=NIOSH Workplace Safety and Health Topics|publisher=National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health|access-date=11 July 2012}}</ref>

The most frequent cause of death is [[Man overboard|falls overboard]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.necenter.org/fishing/research/?id=28|title=Fishing Research - Northeast Center for Occupational Safety and Health|website=www.necenter.org|access-date=2019-06-25|archive-date=2020-10-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201022011302/https://www.necenter.org/fishing/research/?id=28|url-status=dead}}</ref> Falling overboard specifically killed 182 fishermen in the period between 2000 and 2010.<ref name="Krah">{{cite web|url=http://blogs.cdc.gov/niosh-science-blog/2013/08/07/super-workplace/|title=The Importance of Occupational Safety and Health: Making for a "Super" Workplace |last1=Krah |first1=Jaclyn |last2=Unger |first2=Richard L. | name-list-style = vanc |date=7 August 2013 |publisher=National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health |access-date=16 January 2015}}</ref> This fatality rate is 3 times that of the next most dangerous job in the U.S. and more than 25 times that of the national average across all workers.<ref name="mmwr">{{cite journal | title = Commercial fishing fatalities--California, Oregon, and Washington, 2000-2006 | journal = MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report | volume = 57 | issue = 16 | pages = 426–9 | date = April 2008 | pmid = 18437116 | url = https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5716a2.htm | author1 = Centers for Disease Control Prevention (CDC) }}</ref><ref name="Davis" /> Most falls overboard went unwitnessed, and in none of the cases documented was the victim wearing a [[personal flotation device|personal flotation device (PFD)]].<ref name="fishing_topic" /> Several institutions have tried to change the culture surrounding safety on commercial fishing boats, especially around wearing personal flotation devices. The [[Alaska Scallop Association]] mandates that every fisherman must wear a PFD while on deck of the boat, and other organizations have purchased more wearable PFDs.<ref name=Krah/>
[[File:NIOSH E-Stop Fishing.jpg|thumb|NIOSH prototype emergency stop (e-stop) being tested on the purse seiner F/V Lake Bay.]]
Onboard injuries often result when a crew member is caught in a line and pulled into a [[winch]] on deck. The installation of a readily accessible emergency stop switch on the winch can potentially prevent these kinds of injuries.<ref name="fishing_topic" /><ref name="winch_news">{{cite news|last=Welch|first=Laine|date=January 30, 2010|title=Device makes fishing deck winch less lethal|newspaper=Anchorage Daily News|url=http://www.adn.com/2010/01/30/1117896/device-makes-fishing-deck-winch.html|url-status=dead|access-date=11 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100324220239/http://www.adn.com/2010/01/30/1117896/device-makes-fishing-deck-winch.html|archive-date=March 24, 2010|name-list-style=vanc}}</ref> Injury data collection systems have begun tracking fishing-related injuries (fatal and non-fatal), using publicly available reports such as news media.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Weichelt B, Gorucu S | title = Supplemental surveillance: a review of 2015 and 2016 agricultural injury data from news reports on AgInjuryNews.org | journal = Injury Prevention | volume = 25 | issue = 3 | pages = 228–235 | date = June 2019 | pmid = 29386372 | doi = 10.1136/injuryprev-2017-042671  | s2cid = 3371442 }}</ref>

=== Regulation ===
{{main|Fisheries law|Fishing license}}
The [[U.S. Coast Guard]] has primary jurisdiction over the safety of the U.S. commercial fishing fleet, enforcing regulations of the U.S. Commercial Fishing Industry Vessel Safety Act of 1988 (CFIVSA). CFIVSA regulations focus primarily on saving lives after the loss of a vessel and not on preventing vessels from capsizing or sinking, falls overboard, or injuries on deck. CFIVSA regulations require that commercial fishing vessels carry various equipment (e.g., life rafts, radio beacons, and immersion suits) depending on the size of the vessel and the area in which it operates.<ref name="mmwr" /> Not all commercial fishermen follow safety regulations and advice. One study of Maine fishermen found that less than 25% of the fishermen interviewed had recent training in first aid or CPR, only 75% of the boats had survival suits and only 36% had a survival craft.<ref name="Davis" /> Even the ships that did have the necessary equipment did not consistently have a captain that fully understood how to use the safety equipment.<ref name="Davis" />

== Environmental risk ==
{{main|Environmental impact of fishing}}
{{see also|Fishing down the food web}}
The [[ocean]]s cover nearly two thirds of the Earth's surface, and are continuously threatened by human behaviors and practices. By taking so many fish from the seas, humans have managed to remove entire links from the [[marine food chain]]. This causes a chain effect, leading to an overall upset of the delicate ecological balance.

[[Sharks]] are one of the ocean's most threatened groups (see [[list of threatened sharks]]) because they are mistakenly caught by vessels searching for fish, and end up getting tossed back into the ocean dead or dying<ref name="Empowerment">{{Cite web|title = Commercial Fishing {{!}} Food Empowerment Project|url = http://www.foodispower.org/commercial-fishing/|website = www.foodispower.org|access-date = 2015-12-04}}</ref> Some [[Asian cuisines]] value [[shark fin soup|shark fin]] as a [[delicacy]], incentivizing excessive catching of sharks and even [[shark finning|finning]] practice among [[unregulated fishing|unregulated fishermen]]. This disappearance of sharks has enabled prey animals like [[ray (fish)|ray]]s to multiply, which alters the food chain dynamics.

[[Bycatch]] is the industry term for what they consider "unwanted or economically-worthless aquatic animals who are unintentionally caught using destructively indiscriminate fishing methods like [[longline fishing|longlines]] and [[driftnet]]s, which generally target marketable marine creatures such as [[tuna]] and [[swordfish]]"<ref name="Empowerment" /> There are also billions of other animals that are killed in this manner every year such as: [[sea turtles]], [[marine mammal]]s, and [[sea birds]]. Between 1990 and 2008, it was estimated that 8.5 million sea turtles were fatally caught in nets or on longlines as bycatch.

[[Coral reef]]s are [[biodiversity]]-rich ecosystems which provide habitat for millions of aquatic species such as sponges, star fish, jellyfish, sea turtles, etc. Reef ecosystems are highly sensitive to chemical, temperature, and population changes. There has been an increasing disappearance of large predators such as [[barracuda]], [[Nassau grouper]]s, and sharks<ref name="Empowerment" /> This makes the reefs more vulnerable to invasion by non-native species.

[[Fish farming]] is the raising of fish for food in underwater enclosures, otherwise known as [[aquaculture]]. There are environmental hazards such as waste, damage to ecosystems, and negative effects on humans.<ref>Urbina, Ian. "The Bane of Unsustainable Fishing." The Safina Center, The Safina Center, 19 June 2020, [https://www.safinacenter.org/blog/the-bane-of-unsustainable-fishing www.safinacenter.org/blog/the-bane-of-unsustainable-fishing].</ref> Because they are so densely packed together, the fecal matter that accumulates can create [[algal bloom]]s, or deadly parasites and viruses that thrive on the filthy environment. These can infect wild fish that swim near the enclosure, or whole colonies of fish if an infected farm fish escapes the enclosure.

[[Overfishing]] occurs because fish are captured at a faster rate than they can reproduce. Both advanced fishing technologies and increased demand for fish have resulted in overfishing. The Food and Agricultural Organization has reported that "about 25 percent of the world's captured fish end up thrown overboard because they are caught unintentionally (bycatch), are illegal market species, or are of inferior quality and size" <ref>{{Cite web|title = The Threats of Overfishing: Consequences at the Commercial Level|url = http://dujs.dartmouth.edu/winter-2012/the-threats-of-overfishing-consequences-at-the-commercial-level#.VmEJTnarSM8|website = DUJS Online|access-date = 2015-12-04}}</ref> It should not go unnoticed that overfishing has caused more ecological extinction than any other human influence on coastal ecosystems.

The global environmental problem of oceanic [[microplastics]] is largely caused by plastic-made fishing gear that is wearing down by use, lost or thrown away.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Laville |first=Sandra |date=2019-11-06 |title=Dumped fishing gear is biggest plastic polluter in ocean, finds report |url=http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/nov/06/dumped-fishing-gear-is-biggest-plastic-polluter-in-ocean-finds-report |access-date=2022-05-10 |website=[[The Guardian]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Magazine |first1=Smithsonian |last2=Kindy |first2=David |title=With Ropes and Nets, Fishing Fleets Contribute Significantly to Microplastic Pollution |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/fishing-fleets-contribute-significantly-to-microplastic-pollution-study-says-180978760/ |access-date=2022-05-10 |website=Smithsonian Magazine |language=en}}</ref>

== See also ==
*[[Fishing industry]]
*[[List of harvested aquatic animals by weight]]
*[[List of canneries]]
*[[List of seafood companies]]
*[[Whaling]]

== Sources ==
{{Free-content attribution
| title = In brief, The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture, 2018
| author = FAO
| publisher = FAO
| page numbers = 
| source = 
| documentURL = http://www.fao.org/3/ca0191en/ca0191en.pdf
| license statement URL = https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:In_brief,_The_State_of_World_Fisheries_and_Aquaculture,_2018.pdf
| license = CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Commercial fishing}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160114030433/http://www.worldfishingtoday.com/ WorldFishingToday.com Internet site for and about the commercial fishing ]

{{commercial fish topics|state=collapsed}}
{{fishing industry topics|state=expanded}}
{{fisheries and fishing}}

[[Category:Fishing industry| ]]