Uchikura & Co., LLC

Japanese Company That Found Fish

 

Imagine being able to see beneath the ocean without getting wet. Today, every serious fishing boat relies on fish finders, but that wasn't always the case.

 

The breakthrough came from Japan.

 

In the late 1930s, Kiyotaka Furuno became fascinated by reports that fish gathered around sonar signals. He believed the same technology could be used to help fishermen locate schools of fish. After years of research and development, his company commercialized the world's first practical fish finder in 1948, forever changing the fishing industry.

 

That company was Furuno Electric Co., Ltd., and it has since grown into one of the world's leading manufacturers of marine electronics. Today, Furuno produces not only fish finders, but also radar systems, GPS navigation equipment, satellite communications, weather radar, and integrated bridge systems used by commercial ships, fishing fleets, coast guards, and navies around the world.

 

The fish finder transformed commercial fishing by allowing crews to locate fish more efficiently, saving time, fuel, and effort. It is one of those inventions that quietly became indispensable to an entire industry.

 

If you've ever seen a fishing boat with a sonar display showing fish beneath the surface, you are looking at the legacy of a Japanese innovation that changed the way the world fishes.

 

Learn more about Furuno:　https://www.furuno.com/en/index.html