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Fly-Fishing Fever in Patagonia |
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By Marcela Valente*
From November to April -- the Southern Hemisphere summer -- lovers of this eco-friendly sport arrive at the beautiful nature getaways of southern Argentina.
BUENOS AIRES - Fly-fishing is an outdoor sport that is gaining popularity in the southern Argentine region of Patagonia, and is considered ecologically friendly because it is based on principles of natural resource preservation and respect for the environment.
By its very nature it promotes direct contact with the great outdoors. Fishing enthusiasts step into rivers, lakes and streams and try to attract the fish using handmade lures that are meant to resemble a fly.
If the fish "bites", it is not maimed by the encounter with humans. The fisherman must return the fish to its habitat, as stipulated by the Patagonian Sport Fishing Regulatory Body, which also grants fishing licenses for the area.
Argentina has some of the world's best fly fishing sites, and there is a new generation of fishing devotees who "take pride in an explicit respect for the environment," José Luis López Reale, of Neuquén province's Fly Fishing Association, told Tierramérica.
Like Canada, New Zealand, Russia and the United States, Argentina is endowed with an exceptional geography for this sport, not because of an abundance of fish, but rather for the combination of salmonid species -- particularly trout -- and beautiful landscapes, which are well preserved and sparsely populated.
The summer fishing season lasts from mid-November to mid-April, with the four most sought-after species being the brown trout (Salmo trutta), rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) and the landlocked salmon (Salmo salar sebago).
The salmonids are exotic species in South America. They were introduced in Argentina in 1904 with the aim of establishing populations in the lakes and rivers of Patagonia. The new fish had some dramatic impacts on the native species, but today they have become "part of the landscape."
The most exclusive fishing locations, where a fast-growing variety of the brown trout abounds, are found along Rio Grande, in the southern Tierra del Fuego province, and Rio Gallegos, in Santa Cruz.
Another popular fly-fishing river is the Santa Cruz, in the province of the same name, and stretching into Los Alerces National Park, in neighboring Chubut.
But the favorite spots change from one day to the next, and could be on a river, a stream's outlet into a lake, or the lake itself, say expert fishing guides.
"The combination of virgin lands, with low population density, and experienced guides make fly-fishing here very gratifying," José Mestre, himself an enthusiast and director of Fishing and Aquiculture for the Secretariat of Sustainable Development.
According to Carlos Villaggi, president of the Argentine Fly Fishing Association, the greatest aggressions against the salmonid species are dams, which block their migration to spawning sites, and commercial fishing, although the practice is banned in Patagonian fresh waters.
In its statutes, the association of "mosqueros", as fly fisherman are known in Spanish, proposes to "protect the fauna and flora by advising and collaborating with public and private entities, and promoting the 'catch-and-release' approach to fishing."
"The fly fisherman is very respectful of nature and especially appreciates protected areas," Villaggi said.
It is the provincial authorities who are responsible for the sales of licenses to practice the sport and also for monitoring the fisherman and fishing sites.
But the governments do not have the resources to send out inspectors to cover the extensive Patagonian region -- more than 780,000 square km --, acknowledges the fly fishing association.
"In sport fishing there are four basic points: applied research, legislation, dissemination of information about the resources, and monitoring. In Argentina, the weakest point is the last one," the association president said.
Some 65,000 licenses are issued each year, according to Villaggi, and most go to Argentines. But there are many foreigners fishing without a license, not because of negative intentions, he said, but because of ignorance.
"There are tour operators who sell the travel package with the fishing license included, but then they don't actually buy it, and take the fishing tourists to sites where there is no monitoring."
Neuquén province's Fly Fishing Association chief López Reale comments that clandestine fishing is "the true scourge" of Patagonia's rivers. "No fly fisherman would kill a two-kilo trout that could provide 3,000 eggs a year, because he would be killing 3,001 chances at life."
* Marcela Valente is an IPS correspondent
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