Residents' Sheer Love for Angling

NT Network
Posted on 2008-09-16
Some things are quintessentially Goan. For instance, the Goan’s love for fishing. Despite rapid strides into urbanisation, residents continue to be enamored of traditional past-time, fishing; a sport that soothes even as it excites.Check out the response to the 'fishing competition' organised by local club 'United Friends' on Sunday. It attracted a record 60 entrants this year, a steep increase over the competitors in the previous time.
Says Mr Samuel D'Silva, organiser of the event, "There were anglers from all over Goa, who came over for the competition. Some were professional anglers while most others participated for sheer love of fishing. It was a short event, just two hours. We had timed the competition during the incoming tide, which is the right time for getting a good catch." Apparently the lucky winner was Mr Maurice Rebello with a “catch of a ‘900 gram rat snapper.”
But are not Goan anglers facing problems due to our polluted waters? From the competitors, we learn that pollution is just one of the hindrances to a good catch. The major problem to angling on the Mandovi is the presence of trawlers which spread their nets deep into the river. Says Mr D’ Silva, an avid fisher himself, "Where is the question of our catching fish, if we are not allowed to enter the river itself."
Besides the Mandovi, anglers in Goa also fish around the waters near Terekhol, Cancona, Palolem and Betul. Apparently, in season viz during the monsoons, traditional fishing spots viz near the sluice gates or on the river and backwaters are rich in fish, such as the gobro or palu. “I have caught 15 kg -20 kg fish, off the Patto bridge, in the past,” we are told. But outside the season, anglers also have to travel interiors.
And what motivates an angler? "Only when you have tried out the sport, you will know," one is told. Points out a seasoned linesman, “Fishing is the ultimate hobby. We never realise how the time flies. It feels good when we get a bite on the line.”