Monday, April 18, 2011

Fujairah Fish Market: Caught Fresh With a Pickup Truck

 
Talk about the unexpected - while taking a walk on the beach in Fujairah on Saturday, we stumbled on the locals' secret fishing spot! 
This is definitely not your normal fishing - it's more of the slash-and-burn variety, utilizing huge nets, a couple of boats, and pick-up trucks for the heavy lifting.  First, drag your nets out to sea - a few hundred yards from the beach will do the trick:
Then, hook them up to you trusty Toyota pickup, and drag them back to the shore (how's that for cheating?):
Then pull the trapped fish out of the water, and dump them into your pickup - you're all set for the market (try not to get hit by a flying jellyfish, like I did!)

I know what you're thinking - what about the ones that fall out?  How can we save a couple of fish and feel better about watching this?  Well, one Russian lady took matters into her own hands.  Not terribly effective, just watch:


But the real losers here are the birds, who really didn't like watching breakfast swim away:

Of course, with any massive netting operation, you'll have a few casualties.

The fisherman were only after the small bait fish for the most part, but here are a few other catches of the day - no effort required - just caught in the net with the other guys!
 Jellies were everywhere!
 Sea snakes
 I think this is a Snapper?  (My brother will correct me).
 Squid
  Sea wormy thing.  Lung fish, maybe?

What is funny is that every single Hammour that they pulled out of the net had gorged itself to gills with bait fish just before being caught:
I will say this though, at least it's fresh!

5 comments:

John A. Ballay said...

one of the most insane blog posts i have ever seen. is this for real? great post

John B. Chilton said...

It's for real, John. I, too, have witnessed it. It is quite a scene.

After that drop off you dry cleaning at the Adam and Eve Laundry on your way to an evening of bull pushing.

Katie Shaver said...

Thanks John. Oh, it's for real. I'm not sure disturbs me most - that they are ruining the local environment with their techniques, or that all that stuff is swimming with me just a few meters from shore!

Kenna said...

That's a cool photo the Hammour.

jimdad said...

You need to get Chris the Ecologist over there in a hurry! (Of course, he'll bring his fishing gear along)