Fishing for food in the med

[davids0865]

Hi all,

First post,

We are beginning to plan our retirement escape to the med and while I have never fished in my life it seems to me that the abundance of free food available means that I have yet another new skill to acquire. So, if any of you have recommendations for books or websites which will help me identify fish and the edible from the not, choose tackle and even prep and cook the results, please pitch in, all advice gratefully received.

Thanks

David

 

[davids0865]

Sorry to bump the question but as it was my first post it had to be moderator approved and that over easter took 5 days and the post disappeared of the first page.

David

 

[tri39]

In my experience fish are not "abundant" in the Med! But if anyone else can manage it on a regular basis I too would like to hear how!

 

[billcowan]

Good idea,

But I will say that I have noticed that wherever I go, the locals seem to put an enormous effort into catching very few motley fish.

Over the years various crew members have also tried, but few fish caught.

Wherever you anchor, the boat is immediately surrounded by thousands of quite edible size fish which are great fun to feed with leftover scraps etc. they even take it from your hand. But the moment that you lower any kind of fishing tackle into the water, they're gone in a flash.

I also notice that on every menu, most of the fish have undoubtedly come from the Atlantic. are expensive, have been frozen, and are by UK standards second rate.

I just figure out what the locals eat cheaply, and go for that in Greece its pork chops or sqids, in Sardinia - horse steaks

 

[[29051]]

Mediterranean Seafood,by Alan Davidson is a lovely book to read and cook from. It has line diagrams of edible fish, but not inedible ones. I believe it is out of print but there are used copies on Amazon for about £6 paperback.

But we catch so little fish in the Turkey and Greece that I have brought it home to use ! We do buy fish from local boats when we are anchored, but the prices are high as wild fish is scarce. A lot of the restaurant fish is farmed.

Unless you are near a muddy estuary, the water does not support much sea life. We do see shoals of mackerel sometimes in summer, but they seem rather more wary than English mackerel. They are certainly not fooled by feathers and tinfoil, perhaps because of the clearer water.

The fishing tackle has been useful for hooking things off the bottom though. So far we have "caught" various items, including 2 sets of masks and snorkels, an entire washing line of towels and beach shorts, 3 hats, and a good but old sea fishing rod and reel, with all the line and baits still on !

Good luck anyway though.

 

[davids0865]

Oh well

Thanks for the replies, I am surprised that it seems so difficult to catch your supper, well disappointed really, but feel I must give it a try as I have happy memories of watching Maltese friends fishing while motoring from Valletta to Comino for the day!!

 

[vyv_cox]

We often watch fishermen landing their catches. It is quite common to see a fairly large boat with a sizeable crew landing one small tray of small fish. Occasionally they get lucky and do well but mostly it's the other way. Most Greek fishermen are now employed in fish farms and very little seems to be caught in open water.

Octopus are often caught in harbours using simple equipment but the preparation technique needs to be learnt.

 

[Oliveoyl]

Have seen impressive catches landed at Ermioni and Ithaka, but many small boats with small catches of small fish. Popeye still likes to get out his fishing gear, but it's really a no-brainer. You want to live off the sea - go to Norway!

PS even the Romans used to complain that there were no fish in the Med

 

[DownWest]

A while back, in Athens, I was watching the 2nd lot from the the russian ballet do Sparticus. Asked a Greek friend why the squid were all the same size , his reply: don't tell any body, but they all come from New Zealand. Nothing left in these waters. Around 1987?

 

[serini]

Fishing

You might find this review useful, on the OCC site -

http://cic.oceancruisingclub.org/articles/2514/Review3.pdf?1297541979

 

[multihullsailor6]

A cruising friend of mine who has sailed across the pond from the Caribbean to now Spain advised me to always put two reels out as the fish never swim alone but always in company - so when they see one lure only they don't go near it!

 

[Eeyore]

Agree with other peeps......very little sea life in the Med! I trailed a line from Gibraltar to Egypt and caught nada. The Red Sea was very different and I eventually stopped fishing because I got sick of eating tuna and dorado!

 

[Rum_Pirate]

The Red Sea was very different and I eventually stopped fishing because I got sick of eating tuna and dorado!

Top ones are Wahoo and bottom ones are Dorado (or Mahi Mahi, or 'Dolphin')

 

[charles_reed]

Anywhere but the Med, you have a reasonable chance of catching fish - but it's no coincidence that Greece is the largest producer of farmed fish in Europe - there's little left outside the pens.

A Netherlands friend of mine, who used to regularly feed himself in N Sea and Atlantic waters religiously trailed two lines behind his boat. It was during his 3rd year, just as he was leaving the Med for Brazil the he finally made his catch. Ironically it was a tuna, so large that he had to give most of it away, having insufficient room in his freezer.

So I'd put the chances of a tyro, in the Med, catching anything at about 0.09%.

 

[davids0865]

Thanks all, sounds like the investment in tackle would be wasted, farmed fish it is then, I suppose there is always poaching..................................

 

[TerryMac]

Try "The Cruisers Handbook of Fishing" by Scott and Wendy Bannerot.
http://www.amazon.com/Cruisers-Handbook-Fishing-ebook/dp/B00398B2M0

Very comprehensive but agree with other comments - we've caught nothing in the Med but the Atlantic / Caribbean is another story!

 

[maxi77]

Another thing to watch out for is that here in Portugal a licence is needed, and that needs a fiscal number which is another little interesting and either expensive or time consuming action.

Many people ignore it but I understand the fines can be painful, and right at the moment the GNR seem to be trying to pay off the national debt by raising more fines.

 

[davids0865]

Maxi77, That an interesting little wrinkle, the fiscal number. We currently live and work in France and have a fiscal number that is supposed to be pan-european, might be worth keeping it current after retirement ( I know that is possible ) just in case..............of what I'm not sure

Thanks to all for your input, but it looks like I'm going to be buying not catching, ho hum.

David

 

[The engineer]

We must be lucky

On passage in the Med we have caught many fish, coastal less but still the odd
Spanish mackerel. No fancy equipment, trailing rubber squid normally, caught several without a rod just a hand line with a length of bungee in it.

 

[Victoria Sponge]

Hi all,

First post,

We are beginning to plan our retirement escape to the med and while I have never fished in my life it seems to me that the abundance of free food available means that I have yet another new skill to acquire. So, if any of you have recommendations for books or websites which will help me identify fish and the edible from the not, choose tackle and even prep and cook the results, please pitch in, all advice gratefully received.

Thanks

David

We tried to fish in Turkey but didn't catch a single fish.