tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337168276308065862.post6463157664870218176..comments2023-12-11T11:44:30.539-08:00Comments on BURL FISH: EgyptBurl Productionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11336792373288275661noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337168276308065862.post-28924767558144061302010-05-16T18:12:01.364-07:002010-05-16T18:12:01.364-07:00Jackson,
Poor choice of words on my part in my or...Jackson,<br /><br />Poor choice of words on my part in my original post. I just wanted to clarify. The problem was from illegal commercial harvest, not subsistence fishing.Burl Productionshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11336792373288275661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337168276308065862.post-22499810794161365232010-05-10T23:08:57.708-07:002010-05-10T23:08:57.708-07:00That was amazing! Very interesting read, amazing p...That was amazing! Very interesting read, amazing pictures, and beautiful fish!Kevin Pereiranoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337168276308065862.post-47944140586499247852010-05-09T02:05:54.225-07:002010-05-09T02:05:54.225-07:00very beautiful photo,and interesant blog; bravovery beautiful photo,and interesant blog; bravosebi_2569https://www.blogger.com/profile/10451837219082313437noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337168276308065862.post-76858125371621951672010-05-05T23:26:28.672-07:002010-05-05T23:26:28.672-07:00First, thanks for taking my comment at face value ...First, thanks for taking my comment at face value and not making assumptions about my intent. The latter is too often the case online.<br /><br />Secondly, I appreciate the additional information you provided. I have not been to Egypt, but I have fished a little in Central and South America and have seen the apparent impacts of commercial over-harvest. So I completely understand your concern there. What threw me off in your initial post was describing it as "subsistence" fishing, which is fundamentally different from commercial fishing (as far as I know). Thanks for clarifying.Jacksonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337168276308065862.post-13125792147393860752010-05-04T15:49:29.233-07:002010-05-04T15:49:29.233-07:00Well said Mikey, well said. It is very easy to com...Well said Mikey, well said. It is very easy to comment when one can not see first hand the ecosystem at hand. Poaching runs crazy throughout our globe and Egypt is dying fast as many other countries will be soon to follow. We need education like mikey said to sustain fish for food for locals and recreation. Mikey you said it perfectly and you will never be able to satisfy everyone brother and keep up the solid posts.brent Dawsonhttp://brent@warpathflys.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337168276308065862.post-43866477645474438812010-05-04T01:19:06.362-07:002010-05-04T01:19:06.362-07:00In the old days people took pride in the river Nil...In the old days people took pride in the river Nile. Perch were considered a sacred fish and only royalty fished for them. They had a mummified perch at the museum in Cairo that was over 1000 years old. People have been fishing the nile for at least 5000 years. From long before the time of Christ. When they flooded the river though to make the lake, all the local people were displaced. Many of them were forced to leave the area. Thousands of people were displaced. Their fishing traditions lost forever. There's allot of history of human development and fishing techniques buried under that lake not to mention some one of a kind temples and priceless historic sites. It's sad to see the shorelines littered with huge bundles of old gill net and miles of heavy monofilament line with old stamped eye heavy gauge metal hooks all over. One of our guides spent most of his time gathering piles of discarded plastic fishing gear and burning it with gasoline. The river below the dam no longer floods and the ecosystem is permanently changed. Some fishing techniques have been passed down but it's not the noble profession it used to be. I feel blessed to have gotten to catch one of the oldest fished for species of fish on the planet once reserved only for royalty. I hope to have that opportunity again some day.Burl Productionshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11336792373288275661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337168276308065862.post-84830497943555650892010-05-04T01:00:21.584-07:002010-05-04T01:00:21.584-07:00Actually i can't really say if the locals were...Actually i can't really say if the locals were fishing sustainably. I'm not a biologist and don't have proper data to know what biomass this lake is capable of producing. Maybe they were just scratching the surface and the decline of the perch fishing really was due to a drop in the barometer. I don't think so though. I'm sure the local biologist and authorities recommend a month long closure for a reason and it should be respected. <br /><br />I wanted to check out their catch to get a gauge of species diversity in the lake and distribution from the different areas of this huge lake we fished. The local fisherman are there to make a living and they are good at what they do. They come to catch as much as they can as quick as they can. They fish as much as they can physically handle for as long as they can handle camping on the lake. Usually about two months or so form what the guides told us. Most of them don't live in the area. They come from far away towns to work a stent on the lake then head home with their money. It's not their home and many of them won't return if they don't have to. We are just there to bother fish and satisfy our own egos. However, we left the ecosystem relatively undisturbed. And if the fishing is good we will come back and spend money without taking from the environment. <br /><br />If the guides working for the sport fishing outfits took accurate records over a period of time they could come with with a long term management recommendation that would suit all parties needs. Preserving large perch and managing sustainable harvest of other species. I think there could be a great niche for someone to conduct research on fish migrations spawning habits and species distribution in any lake where there is sport-fishing outfits and commercial harvest taking place. Then create protected areas within the ecosystem. Either permanently closed or rolling closures to accommodate spawning fish. Really tough to enforce something like that though. Instead of spending the money on law enforcement boats, like the one on the lake that just drove around and all the poacher knew where it was, they could spend it on education. If all the fisherman on the lake knew why there were closed areas and really understood the dynamic of the ecosystem they would have personal pride in sustaining it. <br /><br />This place isn't anywhere close to that though. These guys. Get what every they can and get out of there. I wanted to try fishing the local way. They had an interesting technique i hadn't seen yet. They would set out the gill nets across a cove entrance or around an island. In most places i've seen these nets, they just set them out and wait. Come back the next day or ever later. These guys would string out the nets then get between them and the land and start beating on their small boats like a drum. Some pounded the water with their paddles and others jumped up and down on the deck of the boat with a tap dancing type rhythm. Others played tribal rhythms with there hand on the haul of the boat. They tried to scare all the fish in the area into the nets so they could wrap them up quicker and move on. Kind of impatient buy very cool. I think i'd enjoy fishing like that more than fly fishing if i were out for food. <br /><br />We stopped at one island and just ripped the Tiger fish. More action in half an hour for tigers than we had seen in the whole previous 5 days. We fished it in the morning and another group fished it in the evening. When they arrived there was a netter just cleaning his catch of a couple dozen tiger fish. They didn't even get a bit. We went back the next day and not even a bite. He cleaned the point off in 20 minutes. It was pretty astonishing really.Burl Productionshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11336792373288275661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337168276308065862.post-70030731609076106892010-05-03T21:38:55.860-07:002010-05-03T21:38:55.860-07:00Trust me i stood up for the local fisherman all we...Trust me i stood up for the local fisherman all week against the africans. I have a healthy respect for guys fishing to make a living and feed their families. <br /><br />First of all April is the only month of the year where the lake is closed to commercial harvest. In a meager attempt to help protect fish stocks. All the commercial fisherman on the lake at this time were poaching and selling to the black market. <br /><br />They were not fishing sustainably and not respecting the resource. They are out exploiting it. They leave trash, nets, and long lines covered in hooks everywhere. That gear kills many fish and wildlife unnecessarily. <br /><br />Besides speculating that commercial fishing is the reason the fishery is declining is not talking trash. It's making a very valid observation. Don't write too much into it without having been there and seeing the situation yourself.Burl Productionshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11336792373288275661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337168276308065862.post-48619024465585770812010-05-03T18:16:44.654-07:002010-05-03T18:16:44.654-07:00I have enjoyed previous posts on your blog. You cl...I have enjoyed previous posts on your blog. You clearly have a healthy respect for the fish you catch. But parts of this post made me cringe. <br /><br />You write, "We speculated whether it was due to over fishing by the local subsistence fisherman with their long lines and gill nets or if it was due to a small cold front in the weather."<br /><br />Sorry to be the fun police, but did you really mean to trash talk the reputation of folks who catch fish to survive? I figure that someone, like yourself, who (a) respects the resource and (b) has been both a guide and a sport would not be one to conflate the need to feed a family with the desire to catch for recreation. It just struck me as a very poor insinuation to make, even in the name of a great write-up. Be that as it may, I am still in awe of your trip. I want to believe that you just misspoke.Jacksonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337168276308065862.post-15525559911792824452010-05-03T18:11:13.167-07:002010-05-03T18:11:13.167-07:00perfect mikey, perfect explanation buddy, well don...perfect mikey, perfect explanation buddy, well done. Once again we had a most epic adventure and it is always the most fun hanging out with you and jeff. Fricken Killer!Brent Dawsonhttp://brent@warpathflys.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337168276308065862.post-91070880468399847792010-05-03T11:35:01.785-07:002010-05-03T11:35:01.785-07:00Wow. Amazing pioneering trip Mikey-- great write ...Wow. Amazing pioneering trip Mikey-- great write up!Brian J.https://www.blogger.com/profile/02194243514326404738noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337168276308065862.post-48183353135459209832010-05-03T11:22:48.522-07:002010-05-03T11:22:48.522-07:00Really amazing Mikey!Really amazing Mikey!Bernard Yinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03592801458831996366noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337168276308065862.post-42584807687481120542010-05-03T05:18:17.110-07:002010-05-03T05:18:17.110-07:00well done. i think you've got enough material...well done. i think you've got enough material to write a book given all the adventure travel you've done. i'm proud to know you. can't wait until our paths cross again.El Pescadorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08493288515588564941noreply@blogger.com