The young sailor said to me, "Look at you crazy. It's good to have fish, no matter what it is."
For those who like fishing, fishing at sea is really a great pleasure.
Fishermen charter boats for offshore fishing, and the worst boat is per person 100 yuan.
If you spend money on chartering a boat, it is difficult to guarantee that you can catch fish on this day. Even if you can catch fish, it is difficult to guarantee the value of the fish caught 100 yuan, not to mention sometimes going home empty-handed.
However, sea fishing enthusiasts don't care about this. They just want to go fishing by boat, and don't calculate whether the catch is worth spending money, because happiness is priceless.
I have been a sailor for half my life. I have been to almost all the coastal ports in China, and I have also been to famous foreign ports.
In all fairness, the moon in foreign countries is as round as that in China, but there are more and bigger fish in foreign waters than in China.
Most countries in Europe and North America have laws to protect aquatic resources and strictly enforce them. No matter fishing or fishing, there are strict regulations on the size of prohibited/caught fish, and offenders will be prosecuted.
"Fishing with a ruler" comes from this. This has enabled the local aquatic resources to develop healthily.
In addition, people in Islamic countries don't eat fish without scales, where there are so many fish that high-grade fish with scales can't be eaten up. I have also been to some countries in West Africa and North Africa, and the locals don't eat sea cucumbers.
Residents of some countries along the coast of Africa don't eat crabs; People in some Balkan countries don't eat abalone. The Japanese don't eat sea rainbow because it is an offshore creature, and they are worried that it will be polluted.
Seafarers also have a principle to eat fish: don't eat strange-looking fish, don't eat fish without scales, prevent diseases from entering the mouth, and gluttony wastes things.
I once told fishing friends that we caught so many fish in foreign waters, packed them in sacks, and the biggest hook was as thick as No.8 wire. Young fishermen always ask with a grain of salt, "Where are so many big fish?"
In fact, it is not unusual to have many fish, but it is new to travel around the world, sail at sea and catch all kinds of fish that have never been seen before.
Nowadays, many retired sailors miss Karachi Port in Pakistan. The fish in that port are not only rich in species, but also very big.
There is also the Red Sea. Fishing there, don't make a fool of yourself by taking out the small hook and thin line. If you want to fish, tie a hook and a thick line. This is especially true when the ship arrives at four famous fishing grounds in the world.
I remember that year when the ship arrived in Genoa, Italy, the sailors disembarked and strolled at the dock, pulling a rope hanging on the shore into the sea. A net full of fish is hung on the rope.
A local dockworker motioned for all these fish to be given to you.
Sailors can't take it away empty-handed, so they take off their work clothes, button up, untie their shoelaces, tie up their collars, and carry the fish with a net bag on board, weighing 30 to 40 kilograms. That's a piece of cake!
When the ship was anchored at an anchorage in South Korea, a sailor had a whimsy. He tied a few bones with a big net and threw them into the sea from the stern. He wants to catch crabs.
After casting the net, he went to work on the deck.
After work in the afternoon, he went back to the stern and tried to pull the net rope, but it couldn't move. He hurriedly called for everyone's help, and the boatswain went into battle with all the sailors, but the result was still inadequate.
The boatswain had to command the sailors, start the winch at the stern and close the net.
No one expected that there were not only crabs, but also big conchs in the net, and the number was half open. I don't know how these big conchs got into the net. The net was caught, and the canteen on board had not eaten for several days.
If the ship reaches the Australian Grain Wharf, whether it is fishing or crab fishing, if it is not controlled, it can be completely exhausted. There are many fish and crabs there, and you can't catch them. As a sailor, we should not only learn to fish, but also learn to weave nets to fish.
As an ocean-going crew, as soon as a ship sails, it means that the crew have to float on the sea all day. Although they are a little lonely, apart from the pain, they also have fun-fishing, sightseeing, taking photos, shopping, walking on the dock and borrowing local gas when they land.
Sailors should also learn to go to sea at leisure. When the tide ebbs along the coasts of India and East African countries, there is a tendency to see the seabed for several miles. The bottom of the sea is not flat, there are always potholes, and some fish and crabs nest in it for you to catch.
However, I always pay attention to safety. I stabbed my hand when I was fishing in Madagascar. It was terrible.
And the colorful coral world. Watching the beauty of coral is a pleasure, but pay attention to digging coral, which is not allowed in some countries.
In addition, it is best not to move turtles when catching the sea. Some countries legislate to protect turtles.
Now the ship is sailing in the Gulf of Aden, and its main task is to prevent pirates. However, in the 1970s and 1980s when there were no pirates in Somalia, the countries on both sides of the Gulf of Aden were paradise for sea fishing. Not only are there many fish, but also they are big and bite hard, and the sea water is particularly clear. Looking down from the boat, you can see groups of fish swimming around the boat, which makes you addicted to fishing.
The giant salamander catches the most fish in the ports along the coast of Yemen. If you want to catch two plastic buckets an hour, you should be a novice. An old sailor can catch so much with half his body idle. In 1970s and 1980s, almost all ports in Yemen were slow ports. When the ship arrives, it is common to break down for ten and a half days. Make sure you don't catch enough fish, but you eat enough fish.
From the Gulf of Aden to Mukala, you can let go of fishing. A kilo is a small fish.
One day, my boat received a high-frequency call from a group of experts from China. They were building roads and bridges in Mukala, saying that they would take us to the fields for sightseeing and invite us to dinner. When a fellow villager sees a fellow villager, his eyes are full of tears. How can we not be excited when our compatriots visit and entertain us for dinner in a foreign country?
In the past, when we met our compatriots in the expert group in Africa, we always treated them with courtesy. They gave the boat some local fruits, and gave them some food such as rice, noodles and meat.
However, before that trip to Mukala, the ship had been drifting for too long, and there was nothing to spare, only beer.
But in Arab countries, alcohol is forbidden. We can't take beer ashore, but we can't eat other people's meals for free. The captain commissioned a charge to mobilize everyone to go fishing after dinner and take the fish to meet the guests.
In the middle of the night, except for a few crew members on duty, all the crew members went fishing, and those without fishing tackle helped others to fish and cut bait. Besides giant salamander, we also caught king fish, yellow croaker, giant salamander, shark and so on.
The housekeeper said that gifts should show sincerity, and all fish weighing less than 1 kg should be thrown back into the sea. Managers, chefs, waiters, doctors and others in the business department moved the caught fish into the freezer, and they were busy until the evening 10, and they didn't know how much they caught.
The next day, the transport ship of the expert group came, and the flight attendant opened the door of the freezer. Last night, the fish we caught were packed into woven bags full of rice, a total of 10 bags.
On the same day, the chef of the expert group cooked the famous sweet and sour fish with sauce.
It can be seen that the workers of the expert group eat well. We are also very satisfied.
The above-mentioned notes related to sailing and fishing are too ordinary and ordinary in my seaman's career, which is neither thrilling nor exciting. After many years, it is a supplement!