Harvesting the Bounty of the Sea

Fishing is an age old way of extracting edible fish from the sea. Fishing is a very diverse art, and a fisherman has many options as to how to apply his trade. Different methods have different requirements and results. Some are better than others in different situations and a table below will help you figure out about what to expect if all other circumstances are equal. Fishermen will have to make some choices about how they will conduct their business based on a number of factors, the least of which is how much fishing can various areas support and what implements are available.

The first choice fisherman has is where to fish. There general options are on the cost of a lake or ocean, On a river bank, or far out in a boat on a lake or ocean. Of course these options can be limited by what is geographically available. Also being out on a lake or ocean also requires a boat of some kind.

Next, a method will have to be chosen. Here is some detailed information about options.

• Using a spear- This most ancient method is simple, easy and requires only a sharp stick anybody can make in 5 minutes. It is dreadfully inefficient.

• Using a Pole- This method requires a fisherman to make his own pole from a stick, twine and hooks from bone and wood.This system assumes that a fisherman knows how to fabricate his own twine to make the line as well as craft hooks from bone and wood. Fishermen who are provided 25 units of twine and 10 fishing hooks per month gain a 50% bonus to their yield due to better gear and less time having to make their own equipment. A fisherman provided with a Fishing Reel gains an additional 50% bonus.

• Using a Net- Using a net is by far the most efficient way, but can also be the most costly. Each fisherman net fishing must obtain a small fishing net made by a ropewinder. These last only a year.

This table represents how many units worth of edible meat a fisherman can produce in a month of fishing full time. Note that results should be applied against the Sum and Replacement rates of any fish resource present.

* Fishermen who are provided 25 units of twine and 5 fishing hooks per month gain a 50% bonus to their yield due to better gear and less time having to make their own equipment. A fisherman provided with a Fishing Reel gains an additional 50% bonus.

Sea Diving is another ancient method of relieving the sea of her bounty. Sea divers make a living swimming down and collecting resources at the floor of a lake or ocean. When the resources are there, a diver can collect very competitive quantities of food as well as other items such as pearls, coral, and sponges. Sea divers stuck working in a area lacking resources appropriate for them often come up very empty handed. Also note that sea divers spend their working day in next to no clothing going in and out or water. This means that they can only work seasonally.

This table gives data about how many units of a resource a diver can collect in a month working full time. Foods quantities are given in units. This table assumes the resource in question is available in that area. If it is not, the diver may find a very small Incidental quantity at most.

If you have sea divers working an area with no aquatic resources, they can harvest eatable plants and animals that are Incidental to the area. A diver can produce ½ a unit of seafood per rank per month even if there are no official resources listed in this hex. This food should simply be considered "Seafood" and will be a mixture of fish, eel, clams, mussels and crustaceans.

Sea trappers construct underwater trap like cages of their own design for obtaining fish and other crustaceans. Sea trappers are known to be very ingenious in making of their traps from nearly anything. Trappers are always improving on their trap designs, throwing out old ones and fabricating new traps from scratch. Fortunately they manage to make most of them in the same way a normal trapper builds snares and such; from what materials they have available. A Sea trapper's traps allow him to "work" at catching their prey even when they are resting, or fiddling with a new trap. This allows them to gather some animals much more efficiently than a Fisherman or a Sea Diver. Unlike a fisherman however they are generally bound to more shallow water, and can collect a more limited assortment of resources than a diver.

The Following table indicates how many units of edible food a sea trapper can harvest in a month working full time. This amount is only the edible part, and does not include all of the waste parts. Numbers on this chart assume that the trapper is going for animals that are a resource for the area.

If you have sea trappers working an area with no aquatic resources, they can harvest eatable animals that are Incidental to the area. A trapper can produce ½ a unit of seafood per rank per month even if there are no official aquatic resources listed in this hex. This food should simply be considered "Seafood" and will be a mixture of fish and crustaceans.

• All Fishing, Sea Diving and Sea Trapping results decrease to 75% in the Fall months.
• All Fishing and Sea Trapping results drop to 50% in the Winter months.
• Sea Diving is not allowed in the Winter months.

Commercial fishing is far more than a few guys with little nets on a boat. It implies a very large vessel crewed by many men dragging massive nets. More details on commercial fishing will be provided later.

Whaling is a massive undertaking in the medieval time period. It required large sea going vessels and truly impressive harpoons, ropes, and pulleys. It required a considerable investment of time for many men. It however is worth it some say. Whales provide emence amounts of meat, blubber for oil and perfume, leather skin, and whalebone for many other uses. Whaling is complicated enough as to be left for later work.