Fishing - Is It In Our Genes?

Summary: Wherever you are in the world, we all have one thing in common, we all fish. We have been fishing in our rivers and seas for over 40,000 years, but why do we fish and is it a part of our nature?

Sea foods were an important part of our natural food resource thousands of years ago, and even now, men still fish to put food on the table. People living in tribal lands still fish for survival, they don't have good old McDonalds to go to or the local supermarket to buy their weekly shopping; they have a wooden rod with a spike at the end of it to catch their meals. This is how we all lived at one time; it was in our nature to hunt and fish to survive. Although more women are getting involved in the act of fishing, fishing was primarily a male sport. The fellas would grab their rods early in the morning, meet up with their pals and go out for a days fishing. This leads me wonder whether or not fishing is in our genes. As a cat would naturally catch a mouse, a man would naturally catch fish, and even today, that gene is still roaming around giving us the urge to fish. Generally people don't need to fish anymore to ensure they will eat, but still, people still have the desire to fish. Even today estimates show that fish provides 16% of the worlds protein. Trading cod has been going on for more than 1000 years and is now one of the longest lasting trades in history. US Statistics say that in 1996 nearly 20% of the population went out hunting or fishing and in 2006 the UK alone consumed 524 tonnes of fish. So as well as fishing for fun, we still eat fish as a part of our normal diet. Fishing is now generally classed as a sport for either recreation or competition. You can either go fishing down to your local river, or you can book a trip on a fishing boat and go deep sea fishing. If you go out fishing for the day and don't catch a bite, you come away deflated, but if you go out and come back with a big fish, you feel a buzz and pleased with your achievement. Have you ever been with anyone fishing when they catch a big fish, or maybe you have been fishing yourself and had a good bite and you say jokingly 'We eat tonight!'? Perhaps this could be due to the natural instinct within us from centuries ago where men would go out fishing and when he got a good bite, he knew he and his family were going to eat that night. What we do know is that fishing is a part of our lives today as well as a part of our history, and perhaps it is a natural instinct for us to fish. We enjoy the act of fishing as much as we like to eat fish as a part of a diet.