Fisheries Geography – Global Fishing Grounds Considering nutrient upwelling, continental shelf widths, and major ocean currents, where are the three best-known commercial fishing grounds of the world predominantly located?

Introduction / Context:
Great fishing grounds arise where nutrient-rich waters support high primary productivity. This typically happens on broad continental shelves with mixing by currents and tides, or in zones of strong upwelling. Classic examples feature prominently in economic geography and oceanography.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• We refer to the traditionally recognized “big three” of global fisheries in many general-knowledge sources.
• These include the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, the North Sea (including Dogger Bank), and the waters around Japan/Okhotsk.
• All three are in the Northern Hemisphere.

Concept / Approach:
Each cited ground combines broad shelves and favorable currents: the Grand Banks (Labrador Current meets Gulf Stream), the North Sea/Dogger Bank (nutrient mixing on a shallow shelf), and the Sea of Japan/Northwest Pacific (mixing of warm and cold currents and productive upwelling). Hence, they cluster in the Northern Hemisphere.

Step-by-Step Solution:

Verification / Alternative check:
FAO and geography references map these grounds primarily in the North Atlantic and North Pacific mid-latitudes, all northern.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:

• Southern hemisphere only / mixed distributions: Do not match the canonical trio.

Common Pitfalls:
Equating productive upwelling zones off Peru/Namibia with the historically “top three.” While highly productive, the GK “three” are traditionally northern.

Final Answer:
northern hemisphere only