Recently the Kuensel newspaper featured an article titled “Fly-fishing, a prospective eco-tourism service”. I see a number of problems with the article. It may be that the reporter misreported the matter or the rules may have been framed with an incomplete understanding of the issues related to fishing.
A school of Golden Mahseer jostling towards the tributary river Dhichhu in Wangduephodrang, Western Bhutan. The fish is locally known as Ser Nya.
With specific reference to the Kuensel article, I would like to point out the following:
“Recreational fishing, also known as fly-fishing …..”
This is wrong. Fly-fishing is NOT recreational fishing - it is one of the many forms of fishing used by the angling class of fishermen/fisherwomen - whether for recreation, consumption or for sale.
“According to the regulation, angling for recreation strictly prohibited use of bait of any kind”
This is another problem - how is one supposed to attract and catch fish without the use of baits, also known as lures? The whole enterprise of fishing involves the use of attractive baits - to mislead the fish into believing that it is seeing a sumptuous meal passing by it, or dangling before it. Other than Trap Fishing or Net Fishing, all other forms of fishing use baits to lure fish to bite.
Types of baits
There are two types of baits: Live Bait and Artificial Bait.
Live Baits: These are the bait of choice - for its sheer productivity. However, anglers rarely use them since they are cumbersome and hard to come by. These baits come in various forms: live worms, fingerlings, prawns, crabs, shrimps, squids, chicken liver, lumps of kneaded dough diced with ant eggs, raw chicken chunks, sliced orange halves, etc. etc.
Artificial baits: These are man-made baits made of none-natural materials. They come in the form of: flies, spinners, spoons, plugs, jigs, etc. etc. Some also come in Balsa Wood in the form of Plugs.
I get the feeling that the rule “strictly prohibited use of bait of any kind” could have been misinterpreted to mean that the use of Live Bait is prohibited. I know of the existence of the rule in Bhutan that prohibits the use of live baits – the logic being that use of live baits kills two lives.
“The angling season is closed during fish spawning in all trout waters in November and December, and for Mahseer water in June, July, and August”
I have always been skeptical about the rule that bans trout fishing during, what the rules state, Spawning Period. In Bhutan, spawning months for Brown Trouts are designated as November and December. Scientific records say that in the Northern Hemisphere, fish spawn during the fall (autumn) months which falls between September 1 to November 30, meaning that Brown Trouts spawn during these months.
Even worst, the banning of fishing for Mahseer during the months of June to August is a terrible idea. The reason is that the Mahseer is a migratory fish and it is said to migrate to its original spawning areas, to perpetuate life. It is known to migrate during these very months.
June – August are monsoon months. During this time, the volume of water in the rivers swell, which enables the Mahseers to travel upstream to the places where they have been spawned. During times when the water in the river is low, these mighty fish cannot make the run, due to their huge size. Therefore, banning fishing during the prime season does not seem like a good idea. Also, researchers are finding that spawning among migratory fish takes place in the tributaries, while fishing is done on the main river.
“They are allowed to use fly-fishing or spin-fishing rods and reels, and artificial flies or lures”
What about Bait-casting Rods and Reels? Why is this excluded from the list? The most used gear for fishing are: Fly-fishing, Spinning-casting and Bait-casting. A rudimentary explanation of fishing and types of gear are given in my following posts:
“Only a single barbless hook is allowed for recreational fishing……..”
What about barbless treble or double hooks? Why are these two hooks disallowed? I get the feeling that it is because the philosophy behind the use of barbless hooks is misunderstood.
Types of baits with barbed/barbless hooks
The merit behind use of barbless hooks in Catch-N-Release fishing
Use of barbless hooks is supposed to give the fish a fighting chance at escape. The barbless hook can come off easily when the fish struggles to escape, while the barbed hook will sink deeper even as the fish fights to escape. Thus, particularly in Catch-N-Release fishing, no damage will be caused to the fish while unhooking for release. The barbed hook, on the other hand, could cause bleeding while trying to unhook the fish since it is not easy to unhook a barbed hook.
Particularly where an angler is inexperienced, he/she may not be able to set the hook in a way that it will not cause damage to the fish. A damaged or bleeding fish is a dead fish - irrespective of whether you release it back into the water or not.
An experienced angler ought to know the proper way of releasing a fish back into the water - there are precautions to be taken while doing so. If the angler does not know, do our fishing guides know? If not they have to be instructed suitably.
Catch-N-Release fishing as a high-end tourism product
I am encouraged that the government is going to allow game fishing in the country. It is a good move. Now lets see we do a good job of it - by making sure that we do not hash it up with unreasonable and impractical rules and regulations.
They need your blog as a reference document.
ReplyDeleteCan Bhutanese people allowed to purchase fishing rods from India???
ReplyDeleteHi Anon,
DeleteYes, Bhutanese people can, and are allowed to import fishing rods from India. But Bangkok is a better source market for fishing gear - they have better quality and more variety.