March 2020 Newsletter

Greetings to all our friends, family and anglers
The 2019/2020 fishing season has come to an abrupt end and we are entering a very worrying and uncertain time for all of us wherever we are located on this globe. This is unprecedented, usually disasters befall just a small portion of the world but this new one is affecting everyone ad none of us yet know to what extent. For the time being we can only urge one another to stay at home so that we reduce interactions with others. If you don't meet others you cannot catch or pass on this virus, simple really isn't it. Well not so simple because in the poorer parts of the world there are large numbers of people that cannot stockpile, if they make some money today they eat if they don't then they remain hungry.

Most importantly I hope that you and your loved ones will all remain safe throughout these testing times. Living here in Africa where there is such high amounts of poverty the situation is extremely concerning. 

Here in Kenya, as with many other countries in Africa cases of Coronavirus are increasing but governments are doing what they can with limited resources to limit the spread. Hand sanitisers have been deployed at all shops so that you must first sanitise your hands prior to entering. At an increasing number of businesses you will have your temperature checked prior to admission. Either complete lockdowns or in Kenya's case night curfews have been introduced. Politicians are taking pay cuts, well the executive is but MP's are not so keen. There is an increased impetus towards mobile money and not using actual cash, and a lot of businesses will not accept cash now.

But, let's talk about fishing and boats now.........
​The 2019/2020 season was very different in so many ways to what has been seen before. Business was very poor, the worst that I have ever known but there were fish out there. The species available were not the usual ones, Is this an impact of global warming?

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Yellowfin tuna season

As most of you will know traditionally the Pemba Channel has been renowned for big yellowfin tuna during the SE-monsoon months. This was typically August through to mid-October but in fact the start is far earlier around May. But, the weather is often rather unfriendly for boating with very strong winds and heavy rain.

In 2019 a number of local boats, mostly small fibreglass open boats powered by a single outboard engine were crossing the channel to look for tuna off Pemba Island and finding plenty. There were lots of tuna in that area, some really big fish over 50-kg+ too all caught on hand lines.

these days there has been a shift from the traditional wooden craft to these fibreglass boats. Plus an increasing number of these are equipped with GPS as well. Even from Pemba Island you are seeing an increasing number of these boats fishing the plateau off the NW of the island where we have fished for years. Up in Watamu the situation has become so dire that it can be very difficult for the sport fishing boats to fish the banks because of the number of these fibreglass dinghies.

In September 2019 we were out fishing the Pemba area and there were so many tuna about, it was just like the old days. They were not easy to catch of course but they were everywhere. It was so good to see, really encouraging. 

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Indian Ocean Dipole

During 2019 a natural situation developed in the Indian Ocean known as an Indian Ocean Dipole. Basically, the is the Indian Ocean's equivalent to the El Nino in the Pacific. The water in the west becomes far warmer and cooler in the east bringing very heavy rains to Eastern Africa and drought to Australia. 

In East Africa we recorded very heavy rains over a prolonged period but in May alone we measured 26.5 inches (about 675 mm - sorry my rain gauge is old and measures in inches). Luckily we have a nice tarmac road these days so getting in and out of the area was always possible. Sadly there were floods in a number of locations within the region resulting in a number of deaths and loss of property.

A further implication of this phenomenon is that the current reverses flowing south rather than north. For those of you who fished here during the 1997/98 season when the world was experiencing a massive El Nino will recall that is exactly what happened then. The seas are generally calm and the fishing pretty poor really.

Blue marlin

As most of you will know typically it's the striped marlin that dominates the marlin season. Generally once the NE wind or Kaskazi as it is known locally starts to blow the striped marlin appear in big numbers. The onset of the monsoon may be anywhere from mid-November to mid-December or even Christmas. Back in the 1980's I recall that often there was a period of intense NE wind late November lasting for a week to ten days in which the fishing was really good. Then often the wind would revert to the doldrums with the wind switching direction constantly sometimes for about a fortnight after which the change would come properly. 

In 2019 the monsoon never really set in and the seas were unusually calm but also the current was flowing in the wrong direction. As in the El Nino of 1997/98 the fishing was really poor and strangely there were virtually no striped marlin. Actually if you raised a marlin it was often a blue marlin.

Blue marlin was always a bit of a rarity back in the 1970's, 1980's and even 1990's and most often caught during the yellowfin tuna season of August to October when we used to catch some really good sized blue marlin. Even during the NE-monsoon we would catch blues but they were rare. But in more recent years they have become more and more common, sometimes as with this past season more common than striped marlin.

After mid-February when the dipole lost its impetus the fishing improved along the coast with quite a lot of blue marlin. Many of these were juveniles but there were some big fish around too.
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The blue marlin is such an exciting fish to catch where skipper, crews and angler all need to be prepared for the unexpected.

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La nina

Who could ever forget that amazing season of 1998/99 immediately following the El Nino of 1997/98? Crews and anglers who were fortunate enough to fish the Pemba Channel during that period will never forget that outrageous fishing experience. We were raising huge packs of striped marlin too many to count and multiple hookups were the order of the day. It was incredibly exciting and I can only wish that we shall once again be privileged to witness something like that again.

During that season White Otter was top boat with 113 marlin and Kamara was second with 104 marlin. Those of you that fished Kamara I will remember how slow she was yet she outfished most of the more powerful boats. As a skipper following that season I was the top skipper for marlin in Kenya for the following 4 or 5 years, initially with Kamara I and then with Kamara II. 

That happened following an El Nino but could it happen following an Indian Ocean Dipole? Perhaps this 2020/21 season will be similar to the 1998/99 one and boy after this virus has passed us by we are going to need some good news.

Maintenance

Following some engine trouble with Kamara II we are having to rebuild one engine. I have already begun the process, the engine has been stripped of all the accessories and cylinder head with all parts taken to the workshop for servicing. Each individual part will be serviced and repainted..

For those of you that know the boat I am sure you are wondering how I might take the engine out of the boat. Initially I thought that I would have to strip out the cabin to cut the floor out but we have worked out that the block will be able to pass out through the door without need for too much structural change.

The outriggers have been removed for cleaning as well as to allow space for the lifting A-frames for removal of the engine block. Concern is now about getting the spare parts and doing the work amidst the current chaos. It may take a while but rest assured that the engine will be better than it was before. I plan on doing all the work myself apart from a few crucial stages when I shall seek professional input.

As well as carrying out essential maintenance I have also been enhancing our safety capacity. I have installed a SART (Search and Rescue Transponder) which may be used during an emergency. This device interrogates radars from ships or planes and directs the rescuers right on to you. Obviously it's something that you hope you will never have to use but good to have. I shall install EPIRB (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon) onto both boats once I can persuade the Communications authority of Kenya to issue sport fishing boats with MMSI numbers, essential for coding of the equipment. 
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I am preparing both boats for next season, I want them looking really good and we plan on fishing the full season once this dreadful pandemic is over. Please everyone remain in touch and stay safe.

​GOOD HEALTH TO YOU ALL. 

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