|
Spearfishing in Lebanon Having spearfished in Canada and the U.S East Coast (New England), I can tell you that the Lebanese waters do not have the fish abundance and sizes like those we get here. But there are a lot more varieties there. But as for the sizes, I mean we regularly shoot striped bass in the 5 to 10 kg class! Last week, my diving companion, René Potvin, landed a 16 kg bass (45 inches!) in Beaver Tail, Rhode Island... If I'd see that bass in Lebanon, I'd probably celebrate it with champagne! The biggest fish I ever speared in Lebanon was 17 kg only!... we hunt porgies (scups, sargos, silver breams or sea perches) which rarely exceed 1.5 kg . These are reef fish which inhabit the rock cavities and crevices. We do not have kelp (Not that I've ever seen), nor do we practice Blue Water hunting. Only reef hunting between 4 to 35 meters at the most... the average is 5 to 13 m deep. The best gun to use is the 75 cm. single band with a Tahitian 6.5 mm spear and knit silk or Kevlar line (for quick re-loading)... Our best target fish is the sand white grouper. It is the highest priced in the market; depending on the season, the kilo would sell anywhere between 40 to 75 U$ . This specie is around for a limited time only... mainly between October and December. Also, the comb grouper, with its larger head and very slightly shorter body ... It is also a delicacy... The comb grouper is found all year around, along with its cousin, the easiest shot of them all, the dusky grouper. These 3 groupers are among the tastiest fish in the world. I've eaten groupers in Europe, the Far-East, the U.S.A, Canada, the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea: They are definitely not as tasty. Something to do with the habitat and feeding ground, I was told. As to the Mediterranean parrot fish. I've rarely seen anyone bigger than 1.5 kg. I know that the largest are found in deeper waters. During the best season, from September to December, we hunt the Palamida (Greek name for the bonito), but it's a very inexpensive fish, as it doesn't really taste great. This one could reach nice sizes... (but NEVER what I hear of the yellow tail or the blue fin!). Maybe 10 kg (?). We also hunt for the amber and trevally jacks. These ones can grow really big (I've seen some over 25 kg caught by fishermen. The record in Lebanon was an 85 kg jack). I've shot many in the 1 to 5 kg size.... They are a lot of fun to hunt... Also, the trigger fish. It sounds just like a pig... That's why our local fishermen call it "sea swine". watch out for its bite; it can cause serious flesh wounds. This fish can reach a nice size too... But the biggest I've speared weighed 4 kg ... Fun is, once you've located the school, you can retrieve a great supper for the whole family!!! One diving companion shot 4 in a row, in less than 20 minutes time!... the biggest was 4 kg . The gray mullet is very abundant and could be speared in very shallow waters.... Very difficult to get though. It's the fastest of the gang ... Fun is, it's there all year around, like groupers and sargos. If we dare to go further and deeper, we could hit the abundant red and pink snappers species (dorado?)... The pink ones are much praised for their delicious meat, and are very expensive in the fish market... They are usually no less than one kg a piece and I've seen many caught by the fishermen exceeding 10 kg a piece ... I personally shot only a couple of them in 15 to 22 m
deep water. They are very spooky and fast swimmers...
One day, I'll take a really long vacation, and scan the whole area with a BOAT! I'm sure I'll be discovering a totally new and fascinating world... As for the rules and regulations, a year round license
is about 12 U$!
In the summer, the water temperature is close to 30 degrees Celsius. Even in November you do not need a wet suit really, unless you plan to free dive for long hours. The lowest temperature I've recorded was 18 deg. C in January! Some local SCUBA divers told me that it may drop as low as 10 deg. C in hard winter days. I personally wear a wet suit jacket only in the spring, just to be comfortable. Water temp is around 20 to 23 degrees C then. But in August, you may want to wear a "surfer" lycra suit, because of the abundance of medusas (jelly fish), as an involuntary wrong contact with one of them could cause painful burns. Visibility is usually poor to good (which is my favourite, as this is when the fish also can't see me clearly!!!). It becomes excellent only from October and on... In October and November especially, we have the most fun fishing and diving, as the sea becomes crystal clear, and calm like a Canadian trout lake, swarming with abundant fish species... The weather then is just perfect... There is no weather in the world more beautiful and as perfect as Autumn in Lebanon... In 1996, the Lebanese government has allowed SCUBA divers
to spearfish for the first time. I am very disappointed, because
they will be getting the big reproductive species, all year round, at any
given depth (In the SCUBA limit). It costs an extra 25 dollars for
that permit. ( I am not sure how much a foreigner has to pay, but Lebanon's
policy is very tourist friendly).
|