CHAPTER II 

 HISTORY 



FISHING is one of the oldest and 

 until recent years one of the least 

 progressive of our industries. Pre- 

 historic man hunted and fished long before 

 he tilled the soil or knew the use of metals. 

 Thousands of years ago our ancestors made 

 an advance from cave-dwelling by erecting 

 rude huts, supported by wooden piles, near 

 the shores of lakes and inland waterways. 

 This gave them more security against 

 wild beasts and other foes, and provided 

 them with a more certain supply of food, 

 procured by fishing the waters surrounding 

 their dwellings. Proof that the North Sea 

 attracted primitive man is found in the 

 Kitchen Middens of Denmark, where vast 

 heaps of shells, which are simply the re- 

 mains of the daily meals of prehistoric 

 man, testify to his voracious appetite and 



