Post Soviet angling

[Skridlov]

I'd just like to bring to the attention of anyone who may be interested, a book; "HOOKED - fly-fishing through Russia" by Fen Montaigne*. The author is a Russian-speaking American journalist who was formerly a Moscow correspondent. In 1996 he spent an entire summer travelling all over Russia (including, notably, Siberia) with fly-fishing tackle. As a pretty intrepid individual, speaking the language well, and with numerous friends and contacts in the region, he was able to visit some exceptionally inaccessible and fascinating places and to fish in most of them.

 

The overall impression produced by this excellently written book is one of complete despair - at least for anyone who loves sport fishing/angling. As a travel book alone it's interesting and enjoyable, but it reveals a situation far worse - in most respects - than we can possibly imagine from the UK perspective. The economic collapse of the post-Soviet world, and the near-total absence of any awareness of the ecological issues surrounding the aquatic environment have led to a situation where whole species are rapidly becoming extinct. Even some of the remotest places in Siberia are being fished out very quickly. The author recounts a trip to one of the rivers running into Lake Baikal where, despite traveling a long way up river in a small boat, and then tramping a considerable distance through the midge-infested bush, he encountered two groups of people busily engaged in exterminating the few remaining Grayling in the area. One group had got there using an old Soviet go-anywhere armoured personnel carrier...

 

Some of the other locations, such as the Kola peninsula, famed for its runs of Atlantic salmon, are being run as high-budget fishing camps for the well-heeled of all nations - which at least has some marginal conservation effect - whilst everywhere that can't be easily policed by the local Mafia who control the fishing camps is being netted, poisoned, dynamited for the only available cash-crop, Salmon.

 

On being introduced to the concept of catch and release, one of the author's local contacts stated that this was a practice belonging to " a more civilised society than ours..." Everywhere in the book the author encounters the amazing levels of carnage that alcoholism is inflicting on the country - where male life expectancy has now declined to about 58 years. At one point a Russian "angler" notes that "fishing is drinking in hip-boots..." Phew. Anyway it's a fascinating and well-written book, and reveals just how quickly fish stocks can be devastated by lack of controls and lack of awareness. Of course economic collapse comes into it too, but that's a bigger story.

 

* I have also seen what I believe is the same book published under the title:

"Reeling In Russia: An American Angler In Russia

Fen Montaigne"

Available second-hand from www.abebooks.com

[Jim Murray]

Thought from the post title that there would be tales of rampant unchecked pollution. This is just as depressing.....

[Skridlov]

Well, it gets worse. I hadn't actually finished the book when I posted the above. Toward the end the author visits the sites of some of the Gulag camps in N.E Siberia and even in such a remote and inaccessible location there are people hoovering up the remaining fish. Of course for quite a lot of these people getting enough to eat is extremely difficult (mind you, getting enough to drink seems to present fewer problems...)

 

There are quite a few people there who are aware that the situation is terrible - but the breakdown of controls is so extensive that there look to be no prospects for anything happening to address a situation that is such a low priority. It 's amazing that even in an immense country (I seem to recall that Siberia is about the same size as USA and W. Europe COMBINED!) it's still possibe to eliminate the majority of the fish in a couple of decades.

 

And in reference to Jim's comment, many of the Siberian rivers are devastated by mining too, with all kinds of pollution and interference having quite literally exterminated ALL the fish in many of the rivers.

 

I also know a little about the situation in Armenia. A web search on "Lake Sevan" will throw up a horror-story about the way in which a very special ecosystem can be completely devastated. To be fair, the Armenian government are doing a lot to rectify the damage (caused during the Soviet period) - but there is still uncontrolled illegal fishing.

 

There's a lesson for us all here. What we have is extremely precious and very fragile. Currently there's a lot of concern about the potential impact of freshwater-fish-eating E. European "anglers" on our fisheries; I don't know how substantial a threat this really is but it would seems to be a good idea for levels of awareness to be raised amongst people coming to live in this country. I think this is not likely to appear very near the top of any government agenda, local or national. Maybe we can encourage the human consumption of boilies as a more efficient way of obtaining protein...

 

Strongly recommended book though, for anyone who likes travel writing and fishing - if depressing in many ways.

[UK_Ozzie]

So Russia is on the verge of collapse and anarchy with imminent collapse of the country within 10 years?

[H.A.]

So Russia is on the verge of collapse and anarchy with imminent collapse of the country within 10 years?

 

 

Not with 'Rambo' Putin at the helm!

 

[lureloser]

Hi Guys,

 

As someone with relatives living in two parts of Russia (Moscow and Rostov) I can state that in the Russian mind, fishing is an exercise to procure food (or revenue) with no suggestion of a sporting side. All my relatives consider me crazy to catch a fish and then return it to the water alive and unharmed. My Grandson was here with us in the summer and when I took him fishing he insisted that he took photographs of myself returning carp/tench/roach back to the water. He told me that photographs might be believed in his school, but if he just told them, no-one would believe him.

 

A different culture with totally different views on anything that swims, runs or flies. They're all crops to be harvested.

 

As for the 'anarchy and collapse', I think the jury's still out.