The harvest of the sea
Ordinarily harvest refers to the return or income which a farmer gets from the field. There may be a bumper harvest. Nevertheless the harvest is the end product of long waiting, back breaking operations, involving a lot of skill and patience. In the case of the sea also there is a similarity connected with the harvest in the field; the only difference being there is not a question of plowing, preparing the field and sowing. But a good harvest in the sea means a great deal of risk and danger. It means pluck and courage on the part of those who take to sea life.
Let us take a look at the exact harvest of the sea. The foremost thing that comes into the mind is the fish. Fishing in the seas is a major industry of the world and maritime countries and their people depend on fish for food. There are major fishing grounds of the world, notably the North Sea, off the coast of Newfoundland and British Columbia and the sea of Japan. In these countries they have mechanized fishing. Fish is caught on a large scale and canned to be sent to the markets.
Besides fish, the whale is hunted for its flesh and blubber as well as it’s bones. Whale hunting is a dangerous job because that mammal, yes, whale is not a fish in the real sense, can destroy a boat if it strikes. A whole novel ‘Moby Dick’ had been dedicated to whale hunting.
The floor of the sea has not been exploited. There is a belief that the deep floors of the seas must be rich in minerals. When the minerals on the land is exhausted, perhaps man may turn to the sea bed for his resources. There is, of course, mineral oil found in some places in the sea bed. Already some countries have taken up the idea and have started prospecting for oil in the sea.
Beside the economic value of the life from the sea, children enjoy picking the beautiful shells deposited on the shore by waves.
The sea too can be used for producing food. The green plankton which produces starch can be exploited to stem the hunger of the world.
If the harvest of the sea is taken to mean in a wider sense, water transport then can also be the bloodstream of the world’s commerce. Wide arteries of shipping lines have liners loaded with the world’s merchandise. Till the advent of the airplane the ship was the only link connecting countries divided by the seas. For transporting heavy cargo there is nothing better than sea transport.
Another important item of harvest is the energy that could be produced by using the tidal waves. There are countries where these tidal waves play havoc. But these waves could be suitably harnessed to produce power. This possibility has not been ruled out and there are attempts afoot to tap this source. This is how man gets a good harvest from the sea.
