Navigators know that there are many fish in the Red Sea, because the fish of the Indian Ocean enter the Bab el-Mandeb Strait from the Gulf of Aden and enter the bottle-like Red Sea. The Red Sea is deep, the fish that enter the "bottle" are happy, there is no return, and the fishing and fishing on both sides of the Red Sea are backward, and the fish are more and more numerous, and the size is getting bigger and bigger.
The red sea in the eyes of seafarers
Between northern Africa and the Arabian Peninsula is a world-famous sea, the Red Sea.
The Red Sea is an annex of the Indian Ocean, and it lies reclining there like a crocodile with a large mouth, from northeast to southeast.
It is about 2,000 kilometers long, has a maximum width of 306 kilometers, a sea surface area of about 450,000 square kilometers, an average water depth of 558 meters, and a maximum depth of 3,050 meters.
The Red Sea, which has been the artery linking the Mediterranean, Northeast Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and the Indian Ocean since ancient times, has been one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world since the Suez Canal was dug, shortening the original route around the Cape of Good Hope by more than 9,000 kilometers.
The east coast of the Red Sea is Asia, mainly Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and other countries, the west bank is Africa, mainly Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti and other countries, with more than ten ports.
The northern section of the Red Sea is connected to the Mediterranean Sea via the Suez Canal, and the southern end is connected to the Bay of Aden by the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
There are media reports that the water of the Red Sea is red, in fact, the red sea water is sky blue.
I have been sailing for many years, passing through the Red Sea almost every year, and in different months, I have never seen the so-called red seawater.
The blue color of the red sea is absolutely true, because the red sea is deep, pollution-free, coupled with the hot sun all year round, a fish that will come out of the water can be seen when it is three or four meters deep from the water surface, coupled with the amplification effect of the seawater, the scene is very spectacular.
The Red Sea is a young sea. About 20 million years ago, the Arabian Peninsula was separated from the African continent and the Red Sea was born.
We can also see from the current map that the shape of the two sides of the Red Sea fits highly, which is the trace left by the continent being torn apart.
The rift valley between the African plate and the Arabian plate passes through the middle of the bottom of the Red Sea.
For nearly three or four million years, the two plates have continued to split, and the two sides of the strait have expanded outward at an average rate of 2.2 centimeters per year.
The Red Sea is widening, and some experts even say it could become a new ocean in the future.
The Location of the Red Sea is high in temperature, less precipitation, strong evaporation of seawater, salinity is generally above 40 ‰, and the Gulf of Suez can reach 43 ‰, which is one of the highest salinity and temperature in the world.
According to some data, the surface water temperature of the Red Sea in summer exceeds 30 ° C, which refers to the average temperature, and the real temperature of the Red Sea is much higher than this temperature.
The weather above 40°C in the area is unusual, and we fish on the deck during the day, wearing work shoes and constantly stomping our feet, which feels like stepping on a red-hot iron plate.
According to some data, the highest temperature of the Red Sea is 56 ° C, and eggs can be boiled in and out.
The annual evaporation of the Red Sea sea water reaches 2000 mm, far more than the precipitation, and there is no river on both sides of the river injecting all year round, resulting in the Red Sea water "can not make ends meet", must be supplemented by the water flow of the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Aden has become a "big reservoir" to regulate the level of the Red Sea.
The water that enters the Gulf of Aden from the Indian Ocean sails northward into the thirsty Red Sea to replenish its lack of water.
Fish from the Indian Ocean also enter the Red Sea, which is one of the reasons why there are many fish in the Red Sea.
The high temperature and high salinity of the Red Sea also flow through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to the Gulf of Aden, which has become an important reason for the high temperature and salinity of the Indian Ocean.
Satellite photographs of the Red Sea
In recent years, Red Sea coastal countries such as Egypt and Jordan have been developing Red Sea tourism.
The author was a professional seafarer, but a hurried passer-by on the Red Sea, it is impossible to understand the Red Sea from the perspective of tourists, but the real experience of seafarers is not experienced by ordinary tourists.
Below, I will share with a wide range of readers several thrilling and interesting experiences I have experienced along the Red Sea coast.
Red Sea Fishing For Mackerel
The boat to port Sudan on the west bank of the Red Sea, as soon as the anchor entered the water, the fishing fans who had been drifting on the ocean for more than 20 days had long been unable to hide their fishing addiction, regardless of the high temperature of nearly 40 degrees, they came to the deck, occupied the favorable terrain, threw the hook into the sea, and showed their magic.
I have previous experience in Red Sea fishing, so I prepared two sets of fishing gear, one set of hooks do not leave the hand, specializing in fishing about 1 kg of fish, the other set is used to catch big fish - with a thick line big hook, the tail end of the fishing line is tied to the boat railing, fixed, and then tied to the railing on a bamboo broom on the thin bamboo strip, the fishing line hangs on the tip of the bamboo strip, as long as the big fish bites the hook, the bamboo bar is naturally bent by force, you know that there is a fish hooked.
When I caught several fish weighing one or two kilograms in succession with the tackle in my hand, I saw that the bamboo strip next to me was bending rapidly, and I hurried to pull it, feeling very difficult, it seemed to be a big guy.
When a third of the nearly 100-meter-long fishing line was pulled out of the water, I suddenly felt a tremor in the fishing line, and my hand felt less heavy, and when I pulled the hook to the surface of the water, I couldn't help but be surprised that it was a bloody fish head weighing 1 kilogram.
Apparently, the hooked fish was swallowed by another big fish on the way to the surface by me.
The color of the Red Sea is azure without a doubt
I hurried back to the room and took out the nylon rope prepared in advance, tied a large hook with a hook the thickness of a finger, and used the large nut on the boat as a pendant, and soon after I put it down, there was a fish bite hook that did not know what to do.
I pulled hard, and where I could pull, I hurriedly released the line, ready to pull again when it was tightening.
However, it had no intention of stopping, and only ran away with all its might. I was already free, and I was reluctant to let go, so I had to shout for someone to come.
Several sailors who watched the liveliness came to help, thanks to the fact that this nylon rope was strong enough to pull all the way. The number of participants had reached 5, and the captain also put down his fishing tackle and came to help direct.
Gradually, the figure of the fish gradually appeared, and the visual length of the body reached 1.5 meters. Seeing that the fish was so big, everyone's enthusiasm was ignited again, and they wanted to pull the fish directly onto the boat with a drum, but as soon as they were pulled to the surface of the water, it struggled violently, and the tail was only stirred, and a white wave splashed on the calm water.
The captain shouted, "Can't pull, drag to the gangway!" ”
When he shouted this, everyone understood that the only way to drag it to the portway and hold it in a net could he do it.
The captain of the sailors quickly led several sailors to put the gangway, and a small sailor from Shanghai said: "It is useless, it is a mackerel, poisonous, can not eat!" ”
I don't know what basis he has for saying this.
The sailor shouted at him: "Nonsense, why can't you eat, help!" ”
Beautiful Red Sea waterfront
After the gangway was lowered, the second pair threw a net for unloading goods, and a Tianjin sailor volunteered to go down to the surface of the water to lay a net, but the big fish did not cooperate, and slipped away from the net several times, making the sailor full of seawater, almost out of danger.
The chef saw the doorway, hurried to the kitchen to get a large iron hook for cooking meat, squeezed to the sailor's side, took the fish unprepared, and hooked the gills of the fish.
The two quickly dragged the fish to the net and tied it firmly on the gangway. At the captain's command, the ladder slowly twisted upwards, and everyone held their breath and watched the big fish slowly rise.
At this time, almost all the crew came, and everyone followed the captain's instructions and joined forces to get the fish on the deck.
Because the pressure difference on the underwater water is too large, the fish's eyes bulge and bleed.
Chef got a scale, good guy, 51kg!
The captain couldn't help but sigh: "I have never seen such a big mackerel, let's not talk about it, it's too hot, hurry up and send it to the ice storehouse, and slowly enjoy it later." ”
Shanghainese sailors still insist that they can't eat it, and some sailors say they can eat it, but mackerel is fishy, so big, it must be even more unpalatable.
The mackerel has been carefully cooked by the chef and tastes great
When the return voyage through the Indian Ocean was just in time for the Mid-Autumn Festival on August 15, the chef made a lot of effort to burn a pot of mackerel pieces, the ingredients used were used, when the pot came out, the seductive aroma immediately aroused the appetite of everyone, a pot of roasted mackerel even fish with soup was reimbursed, and the little sailor's statement that "mackerel cannot be eaten" was also self-defeating.
Sudanese "green fish" in the early morning
Fishing in the anchorage of Port Sudan, the fish frequently bite the hook in the first half of the night, and the bucket cannot be filled at all, it must be filled with sacks and baskets, and the ice house in the kitchen is stuffed, and the fish will not bite the hook in the second half of the night.
Most people can't stand to be sleepy, drink fish soup and take a shower and go back to their rooms to sleep.
Two sailors and I were hardcore fishing fans, and the fish I caught in the first half of the night had contributed, so I couldn't help it, so I drank the fish soup made by the chef and went fishing again.
At nearly 3 o'clock in the morning, I felt a fish bite the hook, lifted up the line, and weighed a decent amount of more than 1 kilogram.
Thrown onto the deck to take a look, it startled a few of us, it was a strange fish that had never been seen before, green throughout, with a slender mouth, especially a pair of unconvincing eyes, not on the front of the fish's head, but in the upper middle of the position.
This kind of fish we have never heard of, never seen before, do not know whether it is poisonous, do not dare to use their hands to pick the hook, so they step on it with their feet, the three people carefully use the hand knife to pry open the mouth of the fish, take off the hook, and throw it back into the sea.
That night, the three of us also caught a dozen two- or three-pound "rubber fish", which are scientifically called horse-faced pufferfish, but no one called it that.
It has no scales and thick skin, and the sailor Lao Wang said that its fish skin can be used as a purse, so he peeled off the skin of more than a dozen fish and dried them on the deck.
Unfortunately, the next morning the sailor grew up to clean the deck and throw all the fish skins into the sea, thinking that no one wanted it.
Some people jokingly called the horse-faced puffer wearing a leather jacket and opening a pair of indifferent eyes
Jeddah Port 'Mermaid' Fishing at Night
Legend has it that there are beautiful mermaids in the sea, and once the ship went to the anchorage of the Port of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, I once witnessed a "mermaid".
The "mermaid" I am talking about is not a mermaid, is it a baby fish in Yunnan, China?
Since I have never been to Yunnan, I cannot compare.
The port of Jeddah is located on the east bank of the Red Sea, and the anchorage is less than 100 meters deeper than the west bank.
During the day, the crew mostly do not have time to fish due to work, and marine fish and freshwater fish have one thing in common, both of which are the favorite hooks around sunrise and sunset.
Secondly, Jeddah Port is too hot in the middle of summer, dry and rainless, is a world-famous stove, it is said that a local driver forgot to wear gloves when driving the door, only to hear a scream, his hand touching the door handle burned off a layer of skin.
After dinner, the crew came to the deck from the air-conditioned room and immediately felt a rolling heat wave, and the deck was still hot in cloth shoes.
His companion Xiao Xu sighed that his hand was not good, others had two or three gains, but he still found nothing.
If you talk about patience, Xiao Xu will definitely get the first place, he is like me, as soon as the boat stops, he will fish.
Xiao Xu was not in a hurry, and finally waited for the fish to bite the hook. Looking at the posture of his two hands, it is estimated that the head is not small, but everyone is busy with their own business, no one can care about Xiao Xu, only I am close to him, visually measuring that the fish weighs no less than 2 kilograms.
As usual, the fish was thrown to the back deck, not wanting to hear the baby's "wow" cry out of thin air, startling everyone's scalp tingling, thinking that in the middle of the night, they talked about the ghost.
This vast sea, the same man, where is the doll crying? People looked around in amazement and found that the cry was emanated from the fish that Xiao Xu had just caught.
Everyone looked around the fish curiously and found that it not only "cried" and the cry of a baby, but also looked like a baby, with a large and slightly flattened head, like a human head, black throughout, almost like black paint, the skin was streaked, and the eyes were large and protruding.
Touching it with his hand, the cry became louder, like a baby was hungry.
This strange fish, even the oldest old captain said that he had never seen it, he said in a circle: "Maybe it is a prehistoric human being, maybe there is civilization in the sea!" ”
Listening to him say this, Xiao Xu said, then you must be released quickly, but don't do evil.
Rays are fished out of the water
Strange to say, the fish seems to understand human speech, and when it is hooked, it also actively cooperates with the opening of its mouth.
Xiao Xu picked it up and was about to throw it into the sea, when the sailor stopped it and said that good things should be done to the end, and put it on the surface of the sea with a net, so as not to hurt it.
After placing it on the surface of the sea, the strange fish still circled around the surface of the water, making one last baby-like cry, as if to say goodbye, and then turned over and dived into the deep water.
When I looked up the dictionary that night, there was an amphibian called the salamander, commonly known as the "baby fish", which had small eyes, short limbs, and a flat tail, and lived in fresh water, making a sound similar to that of a baby crying.
But the strange fish we saw was very different from the salamander, and both sides of the Red Sea were deserts, with little rain all year round and no freshwater rivers to speak of. How can even a salamander variant survive in the salty waters of the Red Sea? What a mystery.
Rays diving to the bottom of the sea
Ask a foreign boss to board the ship in Hodeida
When the ship returned from Western Europe and entered the Mediterranean Sea, it was notified to be temporarily loaded in the port of Hodeida, which was undoubtedly great news for the crew.
Hodeida is a city in Yemen located in the middle of the west coast of Yemen, on the southeast side of the Red Sea, at the exit of the Red Sea, and the Port of Hodeida is one of Yemen's main ports.
When the boat left the Suez Canal, the wind and waves were calm, the sun was scorching, the temperature was rising steadily, and the deck temperature was at least 40 °C.
When the boat arrived at the Hodeda anchorage, it was 6 p.m., and we were notified to anchor at 6 a.m. the next morning and operate at 8 a.m. Due to the high local temperature, summer only works 5 hours a day – 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
My vessel is packing a few more containers in this port and will be leaving the port soon, so fishing time is limited and must be used well.
After dropping the anchor, it is the golden time of fishing at night, and the crew who love fishing and are not on duty come to the deck with the psychology of trying it out, no one has been to this port before, and they don't know how the fishing situation is.
I finished copying the weather, did not bring fishing gear, empty-handed to the deck to watch the liveliness, saw that everyone harvested a lot, but also caught a lot of large strange fish, their body shaped like a fan, with a tail, the body is brown, like a fish not a fish.
Seeing its strange appearance, everyone immediately thought of the guidelines for sailing to eat fish - strange-looking, scaleless, unknown, unseen fish are best not to eat, in case something happens, so the first few caught are either cut as bait or released immediately.
But this strange fish caught more and more, and the front and back have been biting the hook, and the crew has not had time to release it, so it is thrown on the deck.
Until later, the chief engineer from Nanjing arrived, saying that this was the boss fish, the scientific name of the Kong ray, its double fins are particularly developed, looking like a large eagle with wings spread, so it was called a harrier in ancient times.
Not only can it be eaten, but it's also particularly delicious! Everyone regretted that this fish was cut into bait, and what was even more regrettable was that the release was some large boss fish.
Rays jump out of the sea and "fly" into the sky
A few young crew members listened to it and cried bitterly, saying that the old track (the crew called the chief engineer "old track") Why didn't you come earlier, and the release was less than one or two hundred pounds!
The old track heard that a royal wife sold melons and boasted: "Little ones, learn more in the future!" ”
In fact, the old track is not old at all, and it was 40 years old at the time.
On the appearance of the boss fish, if no one points out, the average person really dare not eat, the crew has caught many types of fish, and everyone picks more familiar scaly fish to eat.
The boss fish is distributed in all oceans of the world, saying that it is a fish, and there is no fish phase, so some people describe it as a strange-looking creature.
It is said that some rays can grow into marine trolls and can also use the sea breeze to fly some distance on the surface of the sea.
Boss fish mainly inhabit the sandy muddy water bottom, feeding on small fish and shrimp, lying out at night, so it is difficult to catch during the day, even if caught, the body size is also small, and the large one basically does not come out of the activity.
Boss fish are usually difficult to catch on the shore, and boss fish can only be caught away from the shore. It is born with a wide body, if you want to catch it naturally have to use a large hook thick line, it is also powerful, after the hook feels strong, it takes a lot of effort to pull it up.
Sea fishing boss fish, mostly accidentally hooked.
Boat fishing at sea is impossible to know exactly what fish are under the water like fishing reservoirs and fish ponds, and prepare fishing gear and bait accordingly.
Experienced sea anglers can only roughly grasp the main fish in the sea according to the seasonal changes, and may be able to catch some unexpected fish when fishing, and the crew fishing is to cross the river by feeling the stones - try to come.
The harbor of the tourist resort of Khurgada, Egypt
The water depth of the Hodeda anchorage is nearly 100 meters, but the water is very clear, and the fish is clearly visible when it is pulled two or three meters from the water surface, especially under the illumination of the light, the moment when the water comes out is particularly exciting, like a large fan stirring up and down.
The two- or three-pound boss fish of the crew is called "small boss", and the "big boss" weighs more than ten pounds.
Of course, in addition to the boss fish, other fish species have also caught a lot.
By 11 p.m., more than a dozen people's fish catches were at least 1 ton, of which the boss fish accounted for more than half, and all the fish were moved to the warehouse for food.
There are many red sea fish, coupled with the depth of the red sea, the fishing industry along the coast is backward, especially the locals do not eat boss fish, so the port of Hodeida has more boss fish.
However, I have been to Port Sudan on the west bank of the Red Sea, but there is no boss fish, for unknown reasons.
In the more than 20 days that he set sail from Hodeida and returned home, the ship ate two fish a day, and finally did not finish eating.
Boss fish is really delicious, my favorite practice is to wash the boss fish, cut it into pieces, flood it with salt, and then fry it in oil, which is really beautiful.