The Big Perch is a whopping 4 ½ inches long, surely to be the biggest catch of the day! A large section of the side of this fish has been painted red with the words, “Fish Tremble When They Hear My Name”, painted white. The fish is made of durable poly resin. This ornament is sure to bring a smile of delight to any angler when they see it hanging on their Christmas tree. Select this link to view our Fish Ornaments.
Fisheries of North America
Off the North Atlantic coast of North America there is a wide continental shelf, which in some places extends hundreds of miles from the shore. Large areas of this shelf rise to form underwater plateaus called banks. The Grand Banks off Newfoundland are part of this system of banks. Vast numbers of fish live on the shallow ocean bottoms of these banks. These fish include haddock, rosefish, cod, flounder and Pollock. Men catch them chiefly by otter trawl nets dragged along the ocean floor and by long lines set on the bottom. Hundreds of New Englanders make their living by harvesting lobsters, oysters, scallops and clams. These are not true fish but are included with other sea products of the fishing industry. Altogether, fishermen in the North Atlantic region produce a yearly catch of about a billion pounds of fish. To the south are the Middle Atlantic States, which are the most important producing centers for oysters, blue crabs, menhaden and shad. Purse seiners produce huge catches of menhaden, which is processed to make fish meal and oil. A large shore industry thrives on the shucking and packaging of oysters. In all, about 870,000,000 pounds of sea products are landed in this region each year.
The South Atlantic and Gulf states have the largest shrimp fisheries in the world. Shrimp are caught almost entirely by otter trawl. The United States sponge fishery is located on the west coast of Florida, also in the Gulf area. Intensive fishing and a fungus disease have greatly reduced this once valuable fishery. The menhaden purse seiners, ranging southward on the east, contribute to the total fishery catch of about 900,000,000 pounds in this region. The Mississippi River, the Great Lakes and several large lakes in Canada provide the most productive inland fisheries of North America. Numerous other lakes, ponds and streams add to the total yearly catch of over 200,000,000 pounds of fish from inland waters. Commercial fishermen catch most fresh water fish with nets or traps.
The most valuable fishery resource of North America is on the Pacific Coast, along the thousands of miles of coast line from the Bering Sea to the Columbia River. This is the chief production center of salmon, which are caught with various types of fishing gear. This region is also an important source of herring, halibut, crabs and oysters. The continental shelf on which they are found offers great opportunity for development and expansion of the otter trawl fishery. The greatest tonnage of fish landed anywhere in the Americas is on the South Pacific Coast. Here the tuna fisheries operate, mostly south of the United States as far southward as Ecuador, Peru and the South Pacific. These fisheries supply the great tuna canning industries of southern California. Commercial fishing in California is not limited to the continental shelf, as it is on the Eastern seaboard. The fishing area in the Pacific extends many miles to sea over deep water, which supports vast numbers of many kinds of fish such as tuna and sardines. The total United States catch of all fish and sea products is about 4,400,000,000 pounds a year. Select this link to view our Unique Christmas Ornaments.
Fishery History
The fishing industry is one of the oldest and most important industries in the world. Thousands of years have passed since man first began to net the wealth of river, lake and sea. A picture of a fisherman has been found on an Egyptian tomb of about 2000 B.C. Fisheries and agricultural products are, directly or indirectly, man’s major sources of food. Fisheries supply about 3 per cent of the world’s food needs. In certain countries, such as Japan and Norway, fish may make up as much as 10 per cent of the people’s diet. Both fish and shellfish contain proteins and other valuable food elements. Select this link to view our Unique Christmas Gifts.