The local Estonian fishermen catch fish under the ice using 40 metres (131 feet) long fishing nets.
Maiu Lünekund, a passionate Estonian hiker and nature lover, lives near the Bay of Pärnu that is the most important coastal fishing area in the country. Inspired by the work of fishermen and her interest in people who work close to the nature, she decided to find out more about ice fishing – a wide-spread Estonian winter practice of catching fish through an opening in the ice, from the Bay of Pärnu to Lake Peipus.
“I have lived in an old fisherman’s village, Lindi, for many years now and even my stepdad is a professional fisherman. But I have never known exactly how they work, far out on the sea. I was wondering on how the hell they catch the fish under the ice using 40 metres long fishing nets,” she told Estonian World.
Lünekund’s curiosity resulted in a video about this winter activity. “Fortunately, my stepdad agreed to take me to the sea with him and I captured the experience on video. My respect for the professional fishermen grew by every hour I spent on that sea ice seeing how much knowledge and skill it takes to safely catch fish with nets,” she added.
“I hope this short video sheds some light onto this interesting profession and next time you will buy some Estonian fish from the market during winter, you know exactly where it comes from,” Lünekund said.
