Fishing

Like shepherding, the Bible takes fishing for granted. Both salt and fresh water fish were readily available; the coastal regions and the fresh water lake in Galilee provided an abundant supply. Jewish law taught that only fish with scales and fins were clean – kosher – to eat. While most fish was caught for food, fish bones were also used for jewellery.

Fishing on Lake Galilee would have been undertaken in a small wooden sailing boat. The boats used on Lake Galilee were approximately 8 metres long, 2.5 metres wide and about 1.2 metres deep – large enough for six men. They had just one sail.

Although some fishermen used a long fishing line with hooks attached to it, fishing was generally done with nets. 

The sweepnet was a circular net with weights around the edge. It was generally used in deep water. The fisherman would throw the net from the boat so that it landed over the fish which were then trapped as the weights carried the net to the lake floor.

A dragnet was used in shallow waters or to fish from the shore. It was rectangular in shape with weights along one long side and floats on the other. One end would be held on shore while the other was put into the boat. The fishermen would then row out into the lake, letting out the net as they went. They would come back to shore some metres along from where they left, trapping the fish between the net and land. The fish would be dragged to shore in the net.

The Romans regulated the fishing industry by selling fishing rights. Some families bought and worked their own boats, others hired labourers to help them. Tax collectors or brokers also bought fishing rights and contracted local fishermen to work for them. Consequently some fishermen had little control over their livelihood and would often have to fish in unfavourable conditions or during storms cause by wind coming down from the hills to the north of the lake.

As well as being a popular occupation, fish and fishing were associated with Christian life: Jesus invited the first disciples to put away their fishing nets and instead to ‘catch people.’ Later, the early Christian community used the fish as a symbol for Christ, using the Greek letters of the words Jesus (I), Christ (Ch), God’s (Th), Son (Y), Saviour (S), to form an acrostic of the Greek word for ‘fish’: ICHTHYS