Fish Pond Harvests

Fish pond harvest belongs among the customary and popular autumn events. Watching fishermen seining the pond is probably the most attractive part of the whole harvest. Nevertheless, the preparations for the pond harvest begin much earlier, with so-called draining. The pondmaster starts draining the pond a day or even a month before the seining breaks out. It depends on the size of a pond. By draining, the fish are slowly, but effectively concentrated in one place.

A day before the beginning of the harvest, the fish hatchery workers and fish farmers start gathering all needed equipment. The preparations are approaching climax. In the early morning hours the opening ceremony begins with handing the fishing law over to the leading fishermen.

Seining can start. Fishermen walk along the edge of the pond running the seine along the bottom of it. If there are enough fish caught, the draught is terminated. At first the carnivorous fish are taken out from the seine net. The fish are sorted out, weighed, and dumped into the harvesting tanks as fast as possible. Afterwards, the fish are sent on to the next station; a fish farm or another pond. The fish are ready to be sold after a certain time.