“Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes, and having fun”.
- Mary Lou Cook
Throughout the history of fishing in the UAE, using a basket fishing trap (locally known in the UAE as Gargoor – قرقور) has been and still is a very effective method for deep-sea fishing in the UAE.
Man with a Basket Fishing Trap (Gargoor) - IG @miro.px
What is a basket fishing trap (Gargoor)?
Basket fishing traps are half-ball traps, previously made of palm trees, and currently made of metal wire, with a tunnel-like entrance that narrows down as it goes towards the center of the Gargoor. The purpose of the narrowing tunnel is to make it easy for fish to get inside and difficult to get out.
What is a basket fishing trap (Gargoor) used for?
Basket fishing traps (Gargoors) are used mostly and most effectively for seabed fishing (bottom fishing). In the UAE, you can catch a variety of bottom-feeding fish using basket fishing traps (Gargoors) including Emperor Fish, Orange-spotted Grouper, White-spotted Spinefoot, and the Two-bar Seabream.
How is a basket fishing trap (Gargoor) used?
A mixture of bait is fixed to the bottom of the basket fishing trap (Gargoor). In some instances, chum is dropped in the water at the same place where the basket fishing traps (Gargoors) are placed to attract more fish. The baited basket fishing trap (Gargoor) is dropped to the seabed in areas or locations where the targeted fish are likely to be present. Rocks are used to hold the trap at the bottom of the sea without moving from its place. A rope connects the Gargoor to the water surface for identification purposes, as well as to pull the basket fishing trap (Gargoor) out of the water.
As fish are attracted to the smell of bait and chum, the fish enters the basket fishing trap (Gargoor) from the wide end of the narrow tunnel all the way into the trap. Once in, the design of the basket fishing trap (Gargoor) makes it extremely difficult for a fish to navigate its way out.
After a while (up to two days), the fisherman comes back to the spot where they dropped the basket fishing trap (Gargoor) and pulls out the trap in hopes of having it filled with as many fish as possible. The fish are then emptied from the basket fishing trap (Gargoor) through a sealable opening at the edge of the trap.
<p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; color: rgb(94, 94, 94); font-family: Lato, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><span style="box-sizing: inherit;"><em class="x-el x-el-span c2-3i c2-3j c2-3 c2-5b c2-3r c2-3o c2-5c c2-5d" style="box-sizing: inherit; font-family: Lato, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: inherit; text-transform: inherit; font-weight: inherit; color: inherit; font-size: inherit !important; line-height: inherit; font-style: italic;">“Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes, and having fun”.</em></span></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; color: rgb(94, 94, 94); font-family: Lato, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><span style="box-sizing: inherit;">- Mary Lou Cook</span></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; color: rgb(94, 94, 94); font-family: Lato, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><span style="box-sizing: inherit;"><br></span></p><hr class="x-el x-el-hr c2-1 c2-2 c2-5g c2-5h c2-5i c2-25 c2-2y c2-k c2-3 c2-4 c2-5 c2-6 c2-7 c2-8" style="box-sizing: content-box; height: 0px; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(226, 226, 226); border-image: initial; letter-spacing: normal; text-transform: none; font-family: Lato, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; width: 676.328px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"><p><br></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; color: rgb(94, 94, 94); font-family: Lato, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><span style="box-sizing: inherit;">Throughout the history of fishing in the UAE, using a basket fishing trap (locally known in the UAE as Gargoor – قرقور) has been and still is a very effective method for deep-sea fishing in the UAE.</span></p>
Man with a Basket Fishing Trap (Gargoor) - IG @miro.px
What is a basket fishing trap (Gargoor)?
Basket fishing traps are half-ball traps, previously made of palm trees, and currently made of metal wire, with a tunnel-like entrance that narrows down as it goes towards the center of the Gargoor. The purpose of the narrowing tunnel is to make it easy for fish to get inside and difficult to get out.
What is a basket fishing trap (Gargoor) used for?
Basket fishing traps (Gargoors) are used mostly and most effectively for seabed fishing (bottom fishing). In the UAE, you can catch a variety of bottom-feeding fish using basket fishing traps (Gargoors) including Emperor Fish, Orange-spotted Grouper, White-spotted Spinefoot, and the Two-bar Seabream.
How is a basket fishing trap (Gargoor) used?
A mixture of bait is fixed to the bottom of the basket fishing trap (Gargoor). In some instances, chum is dropped in the water at the same place where the basket fishing traps (Gargoors) are placed to attract more fish. The baited basket fishing trap (Gargoor) is dropped to the seabed in areas or locations where the targeted fish are likely to be present. Rocks are used to hold the trap at the bottom of the sea without moving from its place. A rope connects the Gargoor to the water surface for identification purposes, as well as to pull the basket fishing trap (Gargoor) out of the water.
As fish are attracted to the smell of bait and chum, the fish enters the basket fishing trap (Gargoor) from the wide end of the narrow tunnel all the way into the trap. Once in, the design of the basket fishing trap (Gargoor) makes it extremely difficult for a fish to navigate its way out.
After a while (up to two days), the fisherman comes back to the spot where they dropped the basket fishing trap (Gargoor) and pulls out the trap in hopes of having it filled with as many fish as possible. The fish are then emptied from the basket fishing trap (Gargoor) through a sealable opening at the edge of the trap.