Fishing fest to begin on Thursday

By ARAB NEWS

Published: Apr 3, 2010 01:44 Updated: Apr 3, 2010 01:44

JAZAN: The annual fishing festival in the Farsan Island will begin on Thursday. The island is located 40 km to the southeast off Jazan city in the Red Sea.

The islanders have been marking the arrival of Parrotfish in the shallow waters in huge numbers over many centuries. The participation of the provincial governor has added more color to the festival since 2003.

The festival, which attracts large number of tourists, is also accompanied by folk dance and songs related to the festival.

Large swarms of fish appear in the form of dark clouds in the nearby Al-Hasis Gulf in the early morning hours and specially trained fishermen place special nets called Daur to drive the fish toward the shore.

When the fishermen drag the net the fishes come close to the shallow shore where people, waiting with their small nets, can haul in their catch. The fishermen make big hauls as the fish do not resist or harm the netters in the shallow.

However, the fishermen can start catching the fish only after the start of the fishing festival, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Friday.

The fish that grows up to 40 cms comes to the island only during this season of the year and lives mostly in coral reefs.

http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article38470.ece