Continuing the [Location Factor] articles series for UPSC General Studies paper 1.
Commercial fishing: Location factors
Why is commercial fishing developed in middle to higher latitudes of Northern hemisphere?
Plankton availability
- Fishes eat plankton.
- Phytoplankton require sunlight = they can develop well in continental shelves and shallow seas because of Sunlight penetration and minerals from coastal water.
- Planktons reproduce more in cooler waters
Observe the following map: yellow areas= continental shelf/ shallow areas=better for fishing.
Observe the indented coastlines in N.America and Europe.
Locate South China Sea. You can understand one of the reasons why China and neighbours keep fighting over it=rich-fish resources.
Ocean Currents
When cold and hot current meet, there will be lot of planktons, hence lot of fishes.
| warm | cold | fishermen of ____ benefit |
|---|---|---|
| gulf stream | labrador | US+ Canada (North Western Atlantic coast) |
| Kuroshio | Oyashio | Honshu, Japan |
Location Factor: Fishing Equipment
In the medieval times, temperate forests provided following
- Both soft and hard wood for construction of fishing boats.
- Naval stores (Raisin, pitch, tar and turpentine). They are derived from resinous materials from coniferous trees, were used to make wooden vessels watertight.
Today, commercial fishing vessels don’t need any of above, but steel and heavy engineering industry also developed in surround the coastal regions (e.g. Great lakes-Pittsburg) =shipbuilding industry.
Location Factor: Fishing Market
- In the mountainous regions of Asia and Europe, agricultural production is quite low =Fish important source of protein. Example Japan and Norway.
- Asia= fish + rice= main diet of many were Asian countries. (because Fish is cheaper than meat)
- When Europeans started migrating to North America, most of the early urban settlements were on or near the Eastern coast = ready market for selling fish products.
- During weekly fast of Catholics, fish must be eaten instead of meat.
- Before electricity/petroleum, whale oil was the chief source of fuel and lubricant.
- in developed countries, fishes even used as animal food, fertilizers
- Medical uses of cod liver oil, demand for fur products (walrus, seals) and so on.
- Fish gutting = significant weight loss. Hence fish processing is either done on the vessel or near the coastal plants.
| Coastline | Highly indented coastline provides many sites for harbors and ports. |
| Climate |
|
| Labour | hilly terrain = less cultivable areas.Cold long winters= not good for agriculture= more people switch to fishing. Eg. Iceland, Japan, Norway. |
Fishing regions across the world
| location | prominent fishing area |
| Northern Europe |
|
| US Canada |
|
Commercial Fishing: (Europe+America) VS Asia
Within Northern Hemisphere, Commercial fishing is more developed in North Europe and North America, compared to Asia (Except Japan), why?
| Factor | impact |
|---|---|
| climate |
|
| coastline |
|
| capital |
|
| species variety |
|
Commercial Fishing: VS Southern Hemisphere
- Northern Hemisphere= more land than Southern Hemisphere=large population = fish demand is large.
- In Southern hemisphere nations such as Argentina, New Zealand and Australia, meat and dairy products are plenty =not much demand for fishes.
- Continental shelves are narrower than Europe, North America=less plankton=less fish
Let’s check two leading fishing nations:
India: east vs. West
In India, fishing is more developed along western coast than in Eastern coast because
- continental shelf in Western Coast=wider=more plankton = more fishes
- Commercial varieties like Prawns and Mackerel are mostly confined along western coast.
Other than that, these books don’t contain much wisdom on “Location factor” for Indian fisheries (just list of species found, fisherman use outdated equipment, problem of overfishing etc.)
In the next article, we’ll see the location factors for industries based on natural fibers (Cotton, silk, wool and jute)
Mock Questions
Explain reasons for following (5 marks each)
- Canada is a leading manufacturer of newsprint
- Malaysia and Philippines are leading exporters of tropical hardwood
10 marks
- Commercial fishing and lumbering better developed in the higher latitudes of Northern Hemisphere compared to other parts of the world. Comment.
- Factors responsible for overwhelming use of hardwood for fuels vs. industrial use of softwood.
- Provide the distribution of paper-pulp industry for any one country and explain the locational advantages for this distribution?
- To what extend has proximity to water transport or rail communication influenced timber exploitation? Explain with examples from India and any one foreign country.
- Explain the factors responsible for the thriving fish-industry in any one of the following countries
- Japan
- Norway
- Canada
- Explain the parts played by each of the following factors, in the development of Lumbering industry
- hydro electricity
- frozen ground
- technological changes
your explanations are very good sir but here is a correction. Continental shelf along western coast in not wider than eastern coast as eastern coast is shore line of emergence hence more wider continental shelf and western coast is shore line of submergence hence have less wider shelf than eastern coast. This is the prime reason that most of the natural ports are situated along west coast. Please correct in your explanation..
Hi Rituraj, you’re right about the fact that eastern coast is shore line of emergence and western coast is shore line of submergence. But it’s an anomaly in this case and the continental shelf of western coast despite being submergent, it is wider than the east coast.
PS: I’m aware that Rituraj might not be reading this given that he has commented more than 7 years ago! This is for the information of any other aspirants who visit the site.
sorry my mistake,,, you have written correctly that west coast have wider shelf.
extremely shorry
Hello Mrunal
Can we also add that
1. They can be reared at different depths in the same water body : large yields in limited area.
2. Fishes grow at a faster rate in warmer waters
3. 30-50% more proteins than cattle and pigs..coz they r cold blooded..can adjust to temperatures without wasting energy
Source : surender singh..ch. Economic activities ..under aquaculture
sir it is very nice. Sukriya
correction : west coast of north america has narrow continental shelf and east coast has wider.
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how to prepare efficient note for each topic for GS? Tell me what to include in notes and what to not with example……. please i beg of you…….thank you……
West coast of India vs. East
East Coast is subject to many natural calamities
Source: TOI 2009
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