Fishing is the activity of hunting for fish by hooking, trapping, or gathering. By extension, the term fishing is applied to pursuing other aquatic animals such as various types of shellfish, squid, octopus, turtles, frogs, and some edible marine invertebrates. The term fishing is not usually applied to pursuing aquatic mammals such as whales, where the term "whaling" is more appropriate, or to commercial fish farming. Fishing is an ancient and worldwide practice with various techniques and traditions and it has been transformed by modern technological developments. In addition to providing food through harvesting fish, modern fishing is both a recreational and professional sport.Fishing is a very ancient practice that dates back at least to the Mesolithic period which began about 10,000 years ago. Archaeological features such as shell middens discarded fish bones and cave paintings show that sea foods were important for survival and consumed in significant quantities.
