Traditional fishing
Fishing is one of the oldest professions practiced by the inhabitants of Lebanese coastal ports. This profession was enough to support the needs of families and constituted the only source of subsistence, even if it was a very arduous profession, fraught with dangers, especially when the winds and storms blow, and the sea swallows up many fishermen.
Among the most famous fish species found on the Lebanese coast are bream, red mullet, ladfish, malifa fish, sardines, calamar, shrimps, tuna fish and many other. Each species, or several species, has its own season and methods of fishing, and here lies the importance of the professional fisherman’s knowledge of traditional fishing (the rays) than the advanced fisherman (boy and marine). The president has extensive knowledge, in addition to the above, about the types of sea currents and storms (the storm and its timing, and every storm attributed to a holiday or occasion: the storm of bronzes, the storm of the Feast of the Cross, the storm of Job Wednesday,…) and its degrees, and the types of fish it carries, and the land ( hunting area).
Traditional types of fishing, as the shovel (long net), nets, a rod (reed) and cage, are used in fishing ports along the lebanese coast. The main ports are from north to south: Arida, Tripoli, Batroun, Jbeil, Jounieh, Dora, Ouzaï, Saida and Tyr. Good fishermen know the right places to fish, the depths and the sea currents. In the past, they used to consult the sky to find out what the weather would be like. The stars, the wind, the rising of the sun and the moon and their setting told them whether the fishing would be good or not. Currently, they rely on meteorology and GPS.
The transmission of this know how happens within families or because economic conditions that force many to work at sea. However, this requires systematic training and the establishment of protection mechanisms for fishermen.