Prehistoric Fishing

Dear friends of the sea. The history of fishing begins almost at the same time as the existence of man. The first fishermen did not use tools; they simply went in the water and pulled out shellfish, like mussels, snails and anything else they found. In river currents, the salmon remained almost motionless and a skilful hunter could just pick up the fish and throw it on the river bank.

Fishing has two fundamental parts: locating the prey and catching it.

Contemporary fishermen use advanced methods to locate fish. The fishermen in the past couldn't see clearly underwater so they had to check from a distance and depended mainly on birds to let them know the presence of a school of fish.  

The harpoon is an invention from the prehistoric times. It began as a straight rod with a pointy sharp end. Later, it evolved into a lance with a spiny pointed end so the fish couldn't escape once they were harpooned.

The harpoon points were made from various materials like bones, shells, small timbers or sharp rocks. The underwater fishermen in Polynesia would burnish the shell of a turtle, refining it to a degree of almost transparency and used it in underwater fishing and diving, as a mask!