4 Clear Differences between Fisheries and Fishing You Must Know

Difference between fisheries and fishing — Difference between fishing and fisheries

This post focuses on the differences between the terms ‘fisheries’ and ‘fishing’, which are often misinterpreted. For clear meanings of fisheries and examples in various contexts, visit this post: 7 major contexts/meanings of fisheries

Visit our exclusive article on ‘types of fishing’ for ample understanding, and our pillar content on fishing, and other terms, visit our term portal.

Origin of ‘Fisheries’ and ‘Fishing’

Origin of fishing

The words Fishing and Fisheries originated at different times in history. Fishing dates back to at least 40,000 years ago. OED’s earliest evidence for fishing is from 1703, in the writing of Josiah Burchett, secretary of the Admiralty. It was a primary food source for early humans and was practised by people living near rivers, lakes, and streams.

Origin of fisheries

Fisheries or fishery comes from the word fish and the suffix –ery. The earliest known use of the word was in the mid-1500s.

Specific characteristics of fisheries

The following are the characteristics of fishery:

Definition: any activity related to the culture, management, harvest, processing or marketing of aquatic animals (finfish, shellfish, molluscs, crustaceans, etc.) or plants (seaweeds, alga, etc.). As seen in the image above.
Fishery can be subdivided into other subsectors including aquaculture (which is the culture of aquatic organisms), fishing (i.e. harvest of aquatic living resources from their natural habitat), fishery management (human control over fishery stocks for sustainable exploitation), fish processing, and fish marketing.
Fisheries is a very wide discipline with a plethora of types. Types of fishery include: Inland fisheries; Maritime/marine fisheries; Capture fisheries; Culture fisheries; Artisanal/traditional/subsistence fisheries; Semi-industrial fisheries; Industrial fisheries; Freshwater fisheries; Brackish water fisheries; fin fisheries; Shellfisheries; Small-scale fisheries; Medium-scale fisheries; Large-scale fisheries; Recreational fisheries; Subsistence fishery; Commercial fisheries; etc.

Specific characteristics of fishing

The following are the characteristics of fishing:

Definition: any activity related to the capture of aquatic animals (finfish, shellfish, molluscs, crustaceans, etc.) or plants (seaweeds, alga, etc.). As seen in the image above.
Fisheries is a vast discipline with a plethora of types including Freshwater fishing; Brackish water fishing; fin fishing; Shellfishing; Small-scale fishing; Medium-scale fishing; Large-scale fishing; Recreational fishing; Subsistence fishing; Commercial fishing; Inland fishing; Maritime/marine fishing; Artisanal/traditional/subsistence fishing; Semi-industrial fishing; Industrial fishing; etc.
Fishing is a subsector of fishery and has fewer subsectors.

Highlighting the Differences between ‘Fisheries’ and ‘Fishing’

Table 1: Summary differences between fishing and fisheries
No.	Comparison criteria	Fishing	Fisheries
1	Scope	Smaller scope. Fishing is generally classified under fisheries, also known as capture fisheries, which is a subbranch of fisheries	Wider scope. ‘Fishery’ is scarcely classified under fishing. Fishery subdivides into culture fisheries and capture fisheries (fishing).
2	Activities	Mainly involved in the capture of living aquatic resources (fish, etc.).	Involves in both the culture, management, harvest, processing or marketing of living aquatic resources
3	Branches	Few subsectors	Most authors agree with the fact that ‘fisheries’ has several subsectors notably: fishing, fish farming, fish processing, fishery management, etc.
4	Synonyms	Fishing is also called capture fishery	Fisheries is synonymous with ‘fishery’ in most contexts

Differences between ‘Fisheries’ and ‘Fishing'(summarized)

Here are the differences between fisheries and fishing summarised below:

Fishing has a smaller scope and is generally classified as a branch of fisheries, as capture fisheries, which is a subbranch of fisheries; whereas, ‘fisheries’ has a wider scope and is scarcely classified under fishing. ‘Fisheries’ subdivides into culture fisheries and capture fisheries (fishing).
‘Fishing’ mainly involves in the capture of fish whereas ‘Fisheries’ involves both the capture and the culture of fish.
Most authors agree with the fact that ‘fisheries’ has several subsectors notably: fishing, fish farming, fish processing, fishery management, etc., which are in the chain of fishery activities. But fishing has very few subsectors.
‘Fishing’ is also called capture fishery whereas ‘fisheries’ is synonymous with ‘fishery’ in most contexts

Notes on fisheries and fishing:

While it is widely understood and popular to say Capture fisheries or Culture fisheries, it is quite uncommon to say Capture fishing or Culture fishing since fishing itself means ‘to capture’ (capture fisheries) and culture fishing is equally rare because strictly speaking, there is no culturing or breeding in the meaning of the word fishing.