A brand new episode of “Mongabay Explains” examines the distinction between artisanal and industrial fishing.

What involves thoughts while you hear the phrase “fishing”? A supertrawler unloading a large web bursting with fish onto its deck, attended by a dozen crewmembers? Or a pair of fishers casting their traces from a picket canoe?

Around the globe, the dimensions at which individuals gather fish from the ocean varies alongside a grand continuum. At one finish lies industrial fishing, with its massive ships with highly effective engines, voluminous nets, lengthy voyages and big catches. On the different, artisanal or small-scale fishing, with smaller boats, lower-tech gear, shorter journeys and modest catches.

There are different variations between the 2 fishing sectors, too, such because the vacation spot of their catches: usually export markets, together with for animal feeds, for the economic fishers, and usually native or regional markets for human consumption for the artisanal fishers.

Industrial and artisanal fishing additionally differ of their relative influence on the marine setting. It’s not simply the scale of their catches that makes a distinction, but in addition the quantity of fish every sector discards, amongst different components.