FISHING OFF NEWFOUNDLAND

• Regions around the Grand Banks of Newfoundland are the world’s largest fishing grounds.
• Mixing of warm Gulf Stream and cold Labrador currents make the region the most productive fishing ground on earth.

Fish feed on minute marine organisms called plankton. Plankton is abundantly available in shallow waters [continental shelves] where they have access to both sunlight as well as nutrients. Also, cold and warm water mixing creates upwelling of cold nutrient rich water to the surface.

• The gently sloping continental shelves stretch for over 200 miles south-east of Newfoundland, and off the coasts of the Maritime Provinces and New England.
• Hence microscopic plankton are abundant [Continental Shelf + Mixing of Warm and Cold Ocean Currents].
• Fish of all types and sizes feed and breed here and support a thriving fishing industry.
• Along with Canada and U.S.A., countries like Norway, France, Britain, Portugal, Denmark, Russia, and Japan, also send fishing fleets to the Grand Banks.
• In Newfoundland, fishing provides employment for almost the entire population.
• Further inland, in lakes and rivers, such as the St. Lawrence and the Great Lakes, freshwater fish, e.g., salmon etc. are caught.
• All the fishing activities are carried out by highly mechanized trawlers which can store fish in refrigerated chambers for months.
• St. John’s, chief port of Newfoundland is the headquarters of the Grand Banks fishing industries.
• All processing activities like cutting, cleaning, packing for disposal are done at the ports itself.
• Over-fishing is a growing problem.

FISHING IN JAPAN

• North-west Pacific surrounding the islands of Japan is another very important fishing grounds of the world.
• Majority of the people in the region depend on fishing for survival.
• Hakodate and Kushiro are large fishing ports with complete refrigeration facilities.
• The Japanese fishing trawlers venture far and wide into the Arctic, Antarctic and the Atlantic waters.
• Large whaling fleets with processing plants venture into distant regions as far as Arctic and Antarctic [Japan is criticized for its whaling operations].
• Japan accounts for a sixth of the world’s total annual fish caught.
• The Japanese make use of fish wastes, fish meal and seaweeds as fertilizers in their farms.
• Japan is one of the few countries that has taken to seaweed cultivation (India is taking baby steps in seaweed cultivation).
• Coastal farms that are submerged in water grow weeds for sale as fertilizers, chemical ingredient, and food.
• Another aspect of Japanese fishing is pearl culture. Pearls are harvested from pearl oysters.
• As natural pearls are difficult to obtain in large numbers, so the Japanese have begun to harvest ‘cultured pearls.

WHY IS FISHING THE DOMINANT OCCUPATION OF JAPAN?

• The mountainous nature of Japan and parts of mainland eastern Asia support little agricultural activity [80 per cent land in Japan is classed as ‘non-agricultural’. Around 50% of the total land is covered by forests].
• Japan is not well endowed with natural resources. So, she has to take to the sea if she wants to survive.
• The scarcity of meat (there is little pasture in Japan for livestock farming of any kind) popularized fish as the principal item of diet and the chief protein food of the Japanese and the Chinese as well.
• There exists a great demand for fish and fish products in the nearby countries where fishing industry in under-developed.
• Japan has huge stakes in international fishing enterprises and her advanced fishing techniques give her an edge over competitors.
• Advanced financial services, encouraging government policy, advanced technology at hand, skilled workforce with decades of experience in fishing and the only available natural resource to exploit, make Japan a leader in fishing industry.

GEOGRAPHICAL ADVANTAGE

• The continental shelves around the islands of Japan are rich in plankton, due to the meeting of the warm Kuroshio and the cold Oyashio currents and provide excellent breeding grounds for all kinds of fish.
• The indented coastline of Japan provides sheltered fishing ports, calm waters and safe landing places, ideal for the fishing industry.