A new method to catch mullets has been widely circulated via YouTube. The person who invented this technique said it's for fun and he is planning to make this fishing tool for sale to fishing enthusiasts.
The tool is made from 500ml plastic drinking-water bottle. The top is cut off and a few small holes made around the bottle. Wheat flour is put inside the bottle, which is tied with two floating buoys. A variety of flour such as cornstarch, wheat flour or crispy fry flour is applicable. The last step is tying the bottle to the end of a fishing rod and it is ready.
This fishing tool is designed specifically for mullet catching. Mullet thrives in brackish water or water with over 15% salt, which is the area near the sea in Bangpakong and Samut Prakan. The inventor claims it is the easiest way to catch mullet. Just throw the prepared bottle into the water, and mullet will swim into the bottle to eat the flour and will be unable to get out. The guy brags further that it is possible to catch a whole school of fish with this tool.
It is strange that no one knew before that mullet like flour. Even though it is a new discovery, we should think carefully whether it is proper to use the technique. A device created for fun in fishing games also catches a lot of fish that are too small for cooking. Large fish cannot enter a bottle of that size. It is not right to cut short the mullet's life cycle. Instead, it is better to let them grow.
We learned a painful lesson regarding the careless invention of fishing tools in the past. Decades ago, freshwater prawns were abundant in rivers and waterways. Many decades ago, the river prawn remained in the river. And then people came up with a way to catch them using toba root.
The root of this tree was smashed and put in cans which are placed in the water along the river bank, where there were prawns. This way, river prawns were "drunk" and people could easily catch them. But other small aquatic animals, including frogs, snails and fish, will die too, which is unreasonable destruction. And there are many people who do that until there is no river shrimp left.
There is a fishing device called a phong phang, which is a large net that is tied to two poles and then placed in the canal. Some canals that are not very long are full of phong phang. The owner of the fishing device will pick up the net after the tide rises or lowers because it's the time when fish and all kinds of shrimp will get stuck. The owner will only choose what he wants. Things that are not needed will be discarded.
The Department of Fisheries said it was an illegal tool that destroyed fish of all sizes. The department has difficulty stopping their use because many of the owners of phong phang are against the state plan to destroy the device.
While the state still cannot solve this issue, someone invented a new device which is a mesh net that makes a long round bag. Inside, there is a large wire frame, forcing the net to be tight all the time. The bag is longer than 3m and can have many wire frames.
This net bag will be put on the bottom of the canal. This is another destructive device which is illegal, but the government can't catch it because it's on the canal floor.
All of these are examples of fishing devices to catch aquatic animals. The invention has been non-stop. When the existing devices do not render satisfactory outcomes, new ones are invented to replace the old and to enhance efficiency in catching aquatic animals. New tools gain popularity very fast. In the future, of course, we might see extinctions.
Nowadays, the aquaculture industry is moving forward. Large fish are sold at a reasonable price and are available anywhere, anytime. So the question is why people still need to catch a lot of small fish like mullet. This question remains unanswered.
