AY Honors/Island Fishing/Answer Key

1. Name five native methods that are used for island fishing.

Angling: Angling is a method of fishing by means of an "angle" (hook). The hook is usually attached by a line to a fishing rod. A bite indicator such as a float is sometimes used.
Nets: A fishing net or fishnet is a net that is used for fishing. Fishing nets are meshes usually formed by knotting a relatively thin thread. Modern nets are usually made of artificial polyamides like nylon, although nets of organic polyamides such as wool or silk thread were common until recently and are still used.
Trapping: A typical trap might consist of a frame of thick steel wire in the shape of a heart, with chicken wire stretched around it. The mesh wraps around the frame and then tapers into the inside of the trap. When a fish swims inside through this opening, it cannot get out, as the chicken wire opening bends back into its original narrowness. In earlier times, traps were constructed of wood and fibre.
Spearfishing: Spearfishing is an ancient method of fishing that has been used throughout the world for millennia. Early civilizations were familiar with the custom of spearing fish from rivers and streams using sharpened sticks.
Poison: Though not an environmentally sound practice, some island cultures would gather roots known to be toxic to fish, grind them up, and dump them into a river. The fish would be paralyzed (or killed) and float to the surface where great numbers of them could be gathered. This method is not sustainable.