Fishing has been an important source of food, work and economic activity since ancient times. There is no single year when it became a “key industry” worldwide: the answer depends on whether you mean subsistence, regional trade, industrial-scale production or modern fisheries management. In some regions, commercial fishing has a history spanning centuries.
When did fishing become an industry?
Fishing’s economic importance predates modern industry by a long time. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) describes fishing as a major source of food, employment and economic benefit “from ancient times.” That broad account does not establish a precise first date for fishing—or a universal date when it became an industry. The term can refer to anything from people catching food for their households to organized commercial trade.
The distinctions matter: a community can depend on fishing for its livelihood long before the sector has modern science, industrial production or international management rules.
How long have people made a living from commercial fishing?
Commercial fishing histories differ by region. The Northwest Atlantic is one example of a fishery with a documented history measured in centuries: the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) says it supplied the world with fish for almost five centuries. That describes this regional fishery, not a start date for fishing everywhere.
#1 Best Overall
How did fisheries science and management develop?
Mid-nineteenth century: fisheries research
NOAA Fisheries dates the beginning of basic fisheries research in North America and northern Europe to the middle of the nineteenth century. Its historical account also describes fisheries as socially and economically significant to early North American communities, including before farming could sustain them. This is a later milestone in studying fisheries, not the beginning of fishing or fishing-related livelihoods.
1982 onward: international frameworks
FAO identifies the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea as a framework for improving management of marine resources. The organization also traces the policy push toward responsible fisheries to recommendations in 1991 and the 1992 Cancún conference. These developments mark a later phase in governing fisheries, rather than the start of the industry.
Rank #2
What does the modern fishing industry include?
Today’s global sector includes both capture fisheries, which harvest wild aquatic animals, and aquaculture, which farms aquatic organisms. They have different histories and should not be treated as interchangeable. For example, FAO’s 2018 edition reported that global production was about 171 million tonnes in 2016; it said capture fishery production had been relatively static since the late 1980s and aquaculture was driving continued supply growth. Those are historical figures from that edition, not current estimates.
Employment figures also combine the two activities unless specified otherwise. FAO’s 2022 edition estimated that 58.5 million people were engaged in the primary fisheries and aquaculture sector in 2020: 65 percent in capture fisheries and 35 percent in aquaculture. This is a combined sector estimate, not a count of commercial wild-capture fishers alone.
What’s actually slowing this PC down?
Pick the symptom - the matching free tool is one click away.
Quick Recap
Best Value
Rank #4
Rank #3
Fishing’s timeline at a glance
| Period | Milestone | What it tells us |
|---|---|---|
| Ancient times | FAO describes fishing as a longstanding source of food, work and economic benefit. | Fishing’s importance reaches back beyond any established global industry start date. |
| Almost five centuries | NAFO says the Northwest Atlantic fishery supplied the world with fish for almost five centuries. | A regional example of commercial history measured in centuries. |
| Mid-nineteenth century | NOAA dates the beginning of basic fisheries research in North America and northern Europe to this period. | Modern scientific study came after fishing was already socially and economically important. |
| 1982 onward | FAO identifies the Law of the Sea framework in 1982 and later responsible-fisheries policy milestones in 1991 and 1992. | International resource management developed later than fishing and regional trade. |
Sources
- FAO background on the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries
- NAFO history of the Northwest Atlantic fishery
- NOAA Fisheries history of fisheries science and management
- FAO 2022 employment chapter
- FAO State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2018
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
