Fish Behaviour and Fishing Gear

Abstract

Throughout history, human hunters for fish have made use of their knowledge of fish behaviour in order to make catches. There are more than 22000 different species of teleost fishes, each with its own characteristic world of reaction and behaviour, so that numerous appropriate fish capture systems have been invented. Outlines of our knowledge of the sensory ability and behaviour of fishes have been summarised in the earlier chapters of this book. Fish behaviour is involved in catching fish, both on the oceanic scale, where the annual cycles of maturity cause migrations so that fish are found in different locations that become known to the fisherman by observation of their availability, and on a smaller scale, where the reactions of a fish to each part of an approaching trawl can cause the fish to swim into the codend. In order to be successful, the fisherman must have local knowledge of the day-to-day movements of the fish and of their likely distribution. In all fisheries, one of the most important of the fisherman’s skills is to use the appropriate gear at the right time in the right place.