Food Technology – Fisheries
The fishing industry is concerned with the catching and breeding of all animals that live in the water. The main products of the industry are human and animal food.
Fish are not the only targets of the fishing industry: in addition, invertebrates such as mollusks and crabs can be caught. This may include bivalves, such as oysters or mussels, or large crustaceans, such as lobsters, crawfish, prawns, and shrimp.
Because fish and other sea creatures live in the vast oceans, it is difficult for humans to have an influence on their migratory movements. For this reason, a wide variety of fishing methods have been developed throughout history and across the world. In the Mesolithic period, humans had already begun to exploit the water as a food source.
They caught fish with hooks, nets, or gill nets. Modern fishing methods range from a hook on a line to fishing vehicles equipped with high technology.
Fishing methods
Some traditional fishing methods in use for many centuries include gill nets and weirs. Gill nets are fine mesh nets that are fastened to the ocean floor and positioned vertically; weirs have a barrel or funnel shape and are made of wicker, net, or wire mesh. Purse seines are nets for catching schools of fish not far below the sur-face of the water (such as mark-erel, tuna, salmon, or herring).
Drift nets are attached to buoys. These nets, sometimes miles long, catch fish and other living creatures at random, which is why this method is controversial and has been banned in many places. Trawling makes use of sack-shaped nets to catch specific schools of fish. Fishing boats drag these nets through the water at various depths. If they are dragged along the ocean floor, however, they destroy almost every living creature there.
Longlines are simply fishing lines (with hooks and bait)— except that they are up to 60 miles (100 km) long and have thousands of hooks attached.
FISHING UNDER CRITIQUE
A fishing operation usually catches not only the desired fish, but also other fish, birds, and mammals that are killed In the process (by catch). The by-catch varies in size and scope depending on the fishing method used.
To reduce the by-catch— especially of rare or endangered animals—more selective fishing methods are increasingly demanded. In addition, due to decreasing fish populations, there are now international agreements regarding overfishing. Fishery protection zones, where fishing is limited, have also been established.
BASICS
HOW DO WE KNOW IF A FISH IS STILL FRESH? A chef uses the following criteria to determine if a recently caught fish is still fresh: its eyes should be clear, the gills a shiny, dark red. the fish should not smell like “fish,” and the flesh should give a little but still feel elastic when pressed lightly.