THE EOMANCE OF THE 

 WORLD'S FISHERIES 



CHAPTER I 

 INTRODUCTORY 



Fishing an occupation to which uncivilised man would naturally turn 

 Seasons and preferences Other products of the sea besides fish 

 A few words on fishing from an historical point of view. 



THE catching of fish is an occupation which must 

 have arisen at a very early stage in the history of 



the human race ; for man's staple food is necessarily 

 decided by his surroundings, and it was as natural for 

 a maritime people to look to the sea as its provider, as 

 it was for forest inhabitants to sustain life on the fruit 

 of trees or the flesh of birds and beasts. Early man 

 could not, or would not, cultivate the soil; therefore he 

 must either content himself with food that cost him 

 little or no trouble to obtain vegetable products that 

 did not call for cultivation, eggs, or shell-fish that lay on 

 the shore or else he must combine business with pleasure 

 by obeying his instinct to hunt ; by living on fish, flesh, 

 or fowl, the procuring of which had a seasoning of chance, 



B 17 



