Travels with Hubbie Part II

Catching trout

While in the northern part of the Beqaa, we ran into a fish farm. They’re breeding trout in the Assi river, rainbow trout. I have lived here for a long time now, but have driven trough Hermel maybe once. And only last fall did I end up there by chance while taking the kids out on a rafting trip, and we were served trout for lunch. I didn’t even know they had trout in Lebanon. Well, they do. And good ones too.

Look at that weight; It think it was once part of a car engine

We used to have brown trout in Lebanon, but that one is practically extinct due to overfishing. The rainbow trout was introduced somewhere in the fifties and is 'characterized by a fast growth rate. Trout is raised in areas where a constant supply of high quality water is available all year round. Lebanese waters are predominantly calcareous and suitable for trout production. Water temperature is usually the most critical water quality factor. Trout Farms in Lebanon are mostly family owned businesses. An average yield of 30 kg/m2 is common.' If you are interested in fish, you can find the entire document here.

Catch of the day

 The fish gets pulled out of the river right in front of you, gutted and weighed, and all that at $4 the kilo.

The average annual production of trout is around 1 100 tonnes (MOA figures). This is produced by 150 farms, 80 percent of which are in Hermel-North Bekaa, at a total value of USD 3.7 million and an estimated average yield of 10-12 tonnes (at approximately 1.5 Kg/liter/minute). (Taken from here)

The fish gets gutted and cleaned in front of you, and goes home for $4 a kilo.

 Now all that hubbie needs is a wife that knows how to cook.