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First stone laid for new Maputo fish market

First stone laid for new Maputo fish market

by John Hughes (AIM)

Maputo, 3 Jul (AIM) – Mozambique’s Minister of Fisheries, Victor Borges, on Thursday laid the first stone for the construction of the new Maputo fish market.

The market will have a hundred fish stalls with refrigerated storage to conserve the produce and a restaurant area.

The project is budgeted at 11.3 million US dollars, of which 8.6 million will be provided by the Japanese government through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The Maputo Municipal Council will provide 1.4 million dollars, with the remaining funds coming from the Mozambican government.

Speaking during the ceremony, the minister said that artisanal fishing in Mozambique makes up over 85 per cent of the fishing sector, with the rest being composed of aquiculture and industrial fishing. Borges added that the artisanal sub-sector produced 196,000 tonnes of fish last year out of a total production of 220,000 tonnes.

The minister said the quality and safety of the fish will be checked in the laboratory of the National Institute of Fish Inspection (INIP).

Borges stated that the country currently only has one internationally accredited laboratory, situated in Maputo. However, two laboratories, in the central cities of Beira and Quelimane, are in the process of being accredited, with a third laboratory planned for the northern city of Nacala.

Maputo’s mayor David Simango pointed out that the fish market is the capital city’s third major public construction project currently underway. Work is already taking place on the Maputo Ring Road and the capital’s coastal defences.

(AIM)

dac/jhu (259)

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Humpback Whales everywhere…!

Humpback Whales everywhere…!

There is no point posting any sightings of the humpback whales on their sojourn up the east coast of Africa- there are just so many of them!

Travelling north in random patterns and formations, the whales are having a blast, jumping clean out of the water often times.

As far as the sardines are concerned, it’s only the red eye version of the sardine, to report. Shoals moving north were being hustled by dolphins and gamefish…a similar scene to normal sardines but on a very small scale.

The water has cooled over the last two weeks, to about 19 degrees some times and places, which is great for the sardines, if they decide to come this way!

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Oxe-Eye Tarpon in the Umzimkulu: Reposted

Exploring the Umzimkulu might put you in connection with one of these guys. Ox-eye tarpon are highly sought after trophy gamefish that are spectacular to catch and fight and release of course!

Oxe-Eye Tarpon in the Umzimkulu: Reposted

This is a repost, since the first version was victim to some bugs…

Oxe-Eye Tarpon in the Umzimkulu: Reposted – With a boat full of tourists from Mantis ‘n Moon Backpackers in Umzumbe, we stuck two lures out, a Mydo Luck Shot and a imitation Rapala, by StrikePro, and in the darkening evening the imitation rapala screamed and in the distance we could just make out a violently jumping very fast and acrobatic fish. Garrick was the first guess, until the unmistakable flurry of a tarpon tail walking came clear. Oxe-eye Tarpon. The real deal (Megolops cyprinoides)! We had caught a small one years before, on a jig fly…and heard of a few being caught down under the bridge on flies…but had no idea they got this big in the Umzimkulu at all. And at about 4kg’s, it would have become the new Oxe-eye Tarpon world champion – the current record stands at 2.99kg’s! Anyway, after a magnificent fight we released it healthily after a few photographs and a good bye kiss.

After checking things out a bit further, and finding that although the biggest one weighed officially was 3kg’s, some 18kg specimens have been reported. But this is the crunch line. In Zimbabwe! This raised all sorts of eyebrows, as all of a sudden it dawned upon us, that these tarpon live in the river! They do not go into the sea, they go upriver, and down. They love the brown water, they love fresh water, and they spawn in saltwater! They are very, very hard to catch and to exploit, without nets. They are tough as nails, and aggressively attack anything! They might even survive the holocaust! They can even survive stagnant water by gulping air into their lung-like bladders?! Talk about a superfish. And in Australia it is rated as a higher prize fighter than marlin and barramundi (Australian National Sportfish Association) !!! Right here in the Umzimkulu River. As luck would have it…a camera rolled and the catch was caught on tape…

Oxe-Eye-Tarpon-by-Sean-Lang
The real deal – an Oxe Eye Tarpon, finally on the boat after all these years…and what a fight. The fish cartwheeled and tailwalked and sounded and ran and ran and ran…the first dash must have been 20 metres of jumping and tailwalking madness.

 

To join us for some serious fishing on the Umzimkulu River, call Sean on +27 79 326 9671 or email umzimkulu@gmail.com…or click here for more information. It’s great entertainment, all kids love fishing, it’s safe, it’s fun…the boat is also available for parties, corporate celebrations and team building type activities. We cater with delicious seafood and other Mozambican delicacies from Bela’s Mozambican Restaurant at Spillers Wharf, or we take a braai along.

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Bela’s Starlight Cruises in Port Shepstone

Bela’s Starlight Cruises in Port Shepstone

Belas-River-Cruise

As an ideal add-on to Bela’s Mozambican Restaurant party options – The Umzimkulu, a 28ft retired commercial fishing boat, converted to a pleasure cruiser, will be available for night time cruising, on the Umzimkulu River, in Port Shepstone.

The boat is licensed for 17, is very safe and complies to all necessary rules and legislation. You can chat to Bela down at Spiller’s Wharf to arrange the adventure. Bela will cook up a feast and serve it on the boat, along with drinks and entertainment.

The evening boat outing is perfect for birthdays and celebrations…prices start at R250 per person including food and a cash bar, or BYO.

Bela is available on 078 538 9913 or email Sean on umzimkulu@gmail.com

The wharf at Bela's is perfect for easy access...
The wharf at Bela’s is perfect for easy access…
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Zambezi Shark on Rapala in the Umzimkulu

Zambezi Shark on Rapala in the Umzimkulu

A Zambezi Shark freshly caught and released in the Umzimkulu River
A Zambezi Shark freshly caught and released in the Umzimkulu River

It was a beautiful afternoon and with our crew of 6 tourists from the Mantis and Moon Backpackers in Umzumbe, were in high spirits as we trolled two little Strike Pro Rapala imitations through the rising and jumping fish on the Umzimkulu River.

At one stage, a huge tarpon, about a metre in length tailwalked across the bow of the boat. After getting a few chases and a missed strike, we stopped off at the big hole up near Roystons Hall, and started to cast the lures around the place. The water was clean but the river still flowing quite strong. After a hundred casts, and much egging on from the travellers, the green and yellow Strike Pro got hit. A strong fish that fought well, doggedly staying out of sight until at the last minute it broke the surface and showed itself to be a beautiful little Zambesi Shark!

Luckily the boat was full of camera wielding touro’s and we got a heap of great pics and a video clip (coming soon), before releasing it with a kiss, very alive and well, back into the Umzimkulu River. Since this is the second similair sized Zambezi caught in the river this year, with many more of the same shape and size being encountered, we can only deduce that a big momma might still be cruising up and down, after having given birth in the estuary. Maybe there are a few!

To fish with us on the Umzimkulu River, email Sean on umzimkulu@gmail.com or call +27 79 326 9671

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