Interesting Facts about Fish and Fishing

Fishing has been part of our survival as a human race for centuries and people have been doing it since the dawn of time. Nowadays I would say it’s more of a popular hobby and is more for people or families who want to spend the day outdoors or even for those of you who are great finishing enthusiasts and like to compete in a fishing contest. Either way there are so many interesting facts and bits of information that are sure to fascinate you when it comes to the world of fish and that of fishing. Below we’ll go over some of the most interesting ones that we could gather.

• In the total Australian import count in 2012-2013, 66 percent out of 100 counted for seafood consumption alone.
• Australians have increased their total consumption of seafood by 1 percent from 2000-2013, consuming a rough amount of 15 kilograms of seafood per person.
• Seafood was ranked fourth out of the five most consumed types of meat per person in Australia.
• Australia’s major fishing products include salmon, trout, rock lobster, prawns, abalone, tuna, pearls, and oysters.
• Australian fisheries increased by 2% after 2009, annually bringing in 241,100 tonnes of fish.
• Australia is one of the only countries that has banned large ships and foreign ships from fishing in our oceans in an aim to keep our fish count up.
• In 2015, the fishing industry in Australia brought in 1.4 billion dollars in revenue.
• There is multiple fishing contest held in Australia every year with many records being broken and set each year.
• Because fishing contests can have a great impact on the environment, Australia has developed a rating system – every tournament is rate in terms of performance, social and economic features.
• Queensland is also home to the largest living reef aquarium and it holds up to 2.5 million litres of water.
• Fish are said to have been on this great earth for more than 450 million years! Whereas most mammals are only said to have been on earth for a rough estimate of 200 million years, which is still a long time but under half the time of fish.
• There are more species of fish than there are of any other animal combined which comes to a huge amount of 27,000 identified species, and scientists believe that there are another 15,000 that still need to be discovered at least.
• When you combine fresh water and salt water there is less than 0.1% of fresh water in the total supply and 40% of the fish species we know inhabit this fresh water.
• Tropical fish are mostly harvested from Africa, Asia, Central and South America but sadly the number cause of death for tropical fish is improper housing and nutrition.
• Fish can also feel stress and pain just like any other mammal and bird.
• The fastest fish in the ocean are sailfish, swordfish and marlin which can reach speeds of up to 112 kilometers per hour.
• The fish with the longest lifespan is the rougheye rockfish with the longest known lifespan of up to 200 years.
• When it comes to the ocean’s most deadly predator – shark, they’re actually not that threatening to humans. With only around 10 fatalities a year, you are more likely to be attacked by an elephant which kill around 500 people a year or a deer which kill around 100 people a year.
• Did you know that even goldfish can live for a very long time? With the oldest goldfish recorded to have lived for 45 years.
• Giant squid have the largest eyes on earth which can measure up to 30 cm in diameter.

Fish really are amazing creatures aren’t they? There are so many different species and to think that we have only scratched the surface of how many species there actually are. A great way to experience this up and close is to go fishing or scuba diving and see the fish in action or you can even visit an aquarium to learn more amazing facts about fish. You can buy great fishing gear in specialty stores near you or you can easily find all the gear you might need online where you can buy, shop and compare prices all from the luxury of your own home.