hunting in black sea

[vali]

you can make it bouillabesse....[fish soup with lot of vegetables]
you can boil him in olive oil or you can coock him in the owen...

[Dobs]

Originally Posted by wet

I was surprised to read this:

"It is the time when mullets (and other species) start returning to the Black Sea and the real hunting begins."

Where do the fish stay if not in the Black Sea? in the rivers or in the Medit. or where? I thought all the fish were just always in the Black all the time.
Can clams, molluscs be eaten from the Black?

DDeden

Hi there
As far as I know most of the mullets migrate to the southern-most parts of Black Sea and some even to the Marmara Sea through the Bosphorus Strait. Some remain in the rivers and lakes that are connected to the sea. There are such lakes near the biggest Bulgarian coastal cities, Burgas (where I live) and Varna. Some mullets also stay in the Burgas harbour. However there is a huge migration of mullets twice a year when the water gets to around 15 degrees. At that time of the year (usually May and November) all you need to do is choose a nice rock protruding from the water and stay there waiting for the fish to swim by you.
As for the other question, almost everything from the sea is eatable. The black mussels are delicious. We also have some crabs and a sort of shellfish we call rapan (Rapana venosa), which is originally from the Japanese seas but was brought to the Black Sea only in the 20th century by the ships. It is a real pest and kills almost all black mussels. It is a delicacy in Japan, but in Bulgaria only now is becoming popular to eat. I hope more people will start eating them and reduce the population
An actual industry to pick those rapans has developed in the last 15 years, but it has brought more damage to the sea than anything. At first people started scuba diving for them, but then they discovered the trawling for rapans was much more lucrative. Even now there are many boats that trawl for those shellfish with bottom trawls although it is banned by the law.

[Dobs]

Guys, please do not hijack the thread! I am also very much interested in cosmology and your discussion is indeed interesting, but it needs a new thread probably in the 'Beach Bar'.
Thanks!

[Polystigma]

Ok I deleted my post as well. Do not want to derail this thread any.

Dobs, have you heard of Giant Bluefin Tuna entering the Black Sea?
I did some research and reportedly they do enter...sometimes. Have you heard of any catches? What kind of pelagics are in the Black Sea?

[roban]

Originally Posted by Dobs

Guys, please do not hijack the thread! I am also very much interested in cosmology and your discussion is indeed interesting, but it needs a new thread probably in the 'Beach Bar'.
Thanks!

Sorry, you are correct. Carry on. I will delete my post, and I will not continue this discussion anywhere on deeper blue.

[Dobs]

Thanks guys

Hi Polystigmata,
I also heard that a few decades ago giant bluefins were caught in Bulgarian waters. I have even seen a picture of one from the early 20th century (probably around 1910-1912). But now it is more like an urban legend
I even heard of a swordfish sighting near Burgas, but it could have been just a dolphin.
As for pelagic species, I guess the only true pelagic specie we have is the bonito. Some consider the blue fish (Pomatomus saltatrix) pelagic, but I am not sure. Anyway with global warming we could soon have all Mediterranean and ocean species swimming at our doorsteps...
Cheers!

[wet]

Thanks guys for this information, good to know. I thought that there wasn't much shellfish there, because of the salty deeper waters but I guess that's not a problem in the shallower benthic substrate.

Has anyone speared or dived in both the Black and Caspian seas? Any comparison about fish or water there? I only heard that the Caspian is polluted from oil drilling, but I'm sure some areas are still good for fishing.

DDeden

[Polystigma]

Originally Posted by Dobs

Thanks guys

Hi Polystigmata,
I also heard that a few decades ago giant bluefins were caught in Bulgarian waters. I have even seen a picture of one from the early 20th century (probably around 1910-1912). But now it is more like an urban legend
I even heard of a swordfish sighting near Burgas, but it could have been just a dolphin.
As for pelagic species, I guess the only true pelagic specie we have is the bonito. Some consider the blue fish (Pomatomus saltatrix) pelagic, but I am not sure. Anyway with global warming we could soon have all Mediterranean and ocean species swimming at our doorsteps...
Cheers!

I remember my father telling me some years back. That the reason there are no big fish (and dwindling fish populations) in the Black Sea was because the Turkish net most of them before they can enter. How accurate is this information? I am sure things have changed since he was young.
In addition, let me ask you this. Are there any large sharks caught in the Black Sea? Because if there are, it could indicate they are there feeding on some type or large fish.

BTW, Dobs.... start chopping and burning that fire wood! I too want to be catching exotic species right where I live.

[Dobs]

Originally Posted by Polystigma

I remember my father telling me some years back. That the reason there are no big fish (and dwindling fish populations) in the Black Sea was because the Turkish net most of them before they can enter. How accurate is this information? I am sure things have changed since he was young.

Hi Poly,
Given the fact that the only connection between Black Sea and the rest of the world ocean is the Bosphorus Strait, which is relatively shallow and with huge ship traffic and pollution, I doubt that big pelagic species could enter from there. Probably in the past when the traffic wasn't that big and there were lots of bait fish in Black Sea, big pelagics like tunas or even swordfish could have enterred the southern parts. However I doubt that they can spend lots of time in the Black Sea due to the low salinity. For them it will be like swimming in fresh water.
I would also love to learn more about that...

[Vankata]

I am Bulgarian and we call them Kalkan too. The only time I caught one was when I was around 8 and I had just gotten a new fishing rod and reel. I did not eat any of it because I hated fish, but now I really want to catch one.

[vali]

well!
last week i was at the sea shores for 2 days
i arrived friday at 23:00 [21:00 GMT]
next morning i went at the sea
it was a beautiful sunny day
the water not clear at all at the shores, but after 50 meters was about 6 meters visibility
it was a good day....the water...10-12 degrees C

[Amet]

Guys, I would like to add some info concerning the subj. The North part of Black sea is connected to Ukraine (Crimea half-island). Here is the web address of Ukrainian spearfishing community with photo album FOTO . The site is actually in Russian language but the pictures sound a lot without any translation ;-)). Actually, there are two types of spearfishing in Ukraine - river and the marine (sea) spearfishing (I am sure you can easily separate them based on photos). As I am originally from Ukraine, I can provide you with any info as I have concerning the subj.

[Dobs]

Nice turbot again Vali!
Do you guys have a period of the year when turbot spearfishing is banned?
The ban in Bulgaria enters into force on May 2 and will last for 60 days. How is the situation in Romania?

[vali]

in romania the situation is absurde:
they close spearfishing at turbot between first of april untill 15 of june
what did i sayd?
sperfishing?
they don't even know the meaning of this....
for them....fhishing with road or spearing it's the same.... a bunch of ....well i don't want to use inapropriate language....

[Polystigma]

Good catch