Fishing has been around for as long as man has been around, but that doesn’t tell the whole story of fishing. Fishing goes back at least 40,000 years. There is the remains of the Tianyuan Man which has proved, through extensive research, that he used to eat a ton of freshwater fish. The ancient remains have also shown that seafood was a big necessity for survival. People lived a lifestyle of hunting and gathering and they were constantly on the move, but even the earliest of the permanent settlements were found near major cities for fishing. This is a big reason why the western United States was empty for so many years.
The Nile river was one of the earliest examples of a fishing settlement. It was full of fresh and dried fish that were a food staple for the population. The Egyptians knew exactly how to fish efficiently. This was explained and understood in the tomb scenes, and also on the documents and drawings. It was often easier for villagers to kill a fish than an animal. While there were certainly hunters that killed bears, lions and other forms of mammal wildlife; fishing posed less of a threat to their tribe and was allowed to be prepared with much more ease than it would be to have to kill an animal that would require a skinning due to their coat of fur.
Fishing is much more than a recreation sport. It is a way of life in many countries, especially in poor countries where retrieving food is a means of survival. Fishing will continue to grow as a recreation but for years it has been far more important than that. Think about that the next time you go fishing.