Squid Jigging At Teluk Ketapang Homestay

By Noor Shamsiah Mohamad

KUALA TERENGGANU, May 29 (Bernama) -- The nocturnal hours at the waters along the Terengganu coast, usually very quiet and at times bordering that of the eerie feeling, suddenly came alive during the months of April to August.

It is the time for the annual "squid jigging" season where the fluorescent lamps from a flotilla of fishing boats light up the sea, giving onlookers the impression of a floating carnival.

And this "carnival" can be spotted at the waters off Pulau Redang, Pulau Kapas, Pulau Perhentian, Kemaman, Merchang, Marang, Kuala Terengganu, Batu Rakit and Penarik.

The fiesta begins just after sunset and continues until when the sun is about to rise where the "revellers", who are local fishermen and tourists, frequently hooked up generous kilogrammes of squid.

TRADITIONAL WAY

Jigging is the traditional way of catching squids without the need to use baits, only a tool named the "candat".

The candat or "jigger" is fashioned to appear like a bait and is made from either tin or plastic, which when dip in seawater, appears luminous easily attracting the squids.

The candat is usually fastened with eight to 10 hooks made from steel wires.

There are several types of candat which differs in shape like the buntal, twist, udang, umpan, siam and several others designed to hook different types of squids like the "torok, cumit-cumit, ketupat and jarum".

The tin or plastic-made twist and udang jiggers are fixed with fish hooks that are used to ensnare the squids. These jiggers are wrapped with colourful cloth to lure the squids.

As for the umpan jigger, it is shaped like a long rod where a bait like a small fish is attached to the rod.

VETERAN FISHERMAN

Mohamad Abdullah, a veteran fisherman from Kampung Ketapang, squid-jigging is usually carried out when the moon is full as the squids are attracted to the moonlight and easily baited.

"When the moon is full, the squids are attracted to the moonlight and like to move around in the water. These squids are usually fatter at this time".

The 57-year-old man said: "During the jigging time, we will shine the fluorescent lamp onto the sea surface. The jigger is usually thrown into the sea and when the instrument reaches the bottom, the jigging starts".

"We will pull and release the jigger in jerking motions so that it appears like a moving fish to bait the squids to the hooks," said Mohamad, who is also known as Pak Mat to villagers.

MONSOON

He said the best time for squid-jigging is from April to June as the northeast monsoon winds over the South China Sea have abated.

"It is also the mating season for the squids".

However the squid-jigging season may go on until August.

Mohamad, who uses a fibreglass boat powered by a 30 horse-power engine to go squid-jigging, said the best time to catch the squids is when the water currents are not too fast, or too slow.

He said if someone is lucky, he may stumble upon the squids breeding spot where there are hundreds of thousands of squids.

"If we hit the 'jackpot', we can hook up hundreds of kilogrammes of squids. just dip the jigger and within seconds many squids are hooked to it," he said.

Mohamad said at the squid-breeding spot, usually only the big fish is around as the small ones have been devoured by the squids.

Pak Mat, who has been a fishermen since the age of 17, said the fishermen of his time usually use landmarks like buildings, trees and hills on land to refer to the squid-breeding spots.

"This allows us to return to the spot again," he said, adding that the squids would usually return to the same place to mate and breed.

LATEST TECHNOLOGY

As for Rahmat Abu Bakar, 35, he is more comfortable using the latest technology like the Global Positioning System (GPS) to mark such spots.

Rahmat, who has been squid-jigging in the past five years, said using the modern technology is much easier when compared against the traditional ways.

He said squid-jigging is no more exclusive to the fishermen alone as tourists began arriving for this activity once the season starts.

Terengganu Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh, when launching the Squid-Jigging Fiesta at Pulau Redang last May 6, said it is time for this activity to be promoted globally.

"If previously it is only known to the locals, we will now make this activity part of the state's tourism calendar to attract tourists from countries like Thailand, Singapore, United States and Finland for them to know the unique experience of squid-jigging," said Idris.

News article - Courtesy of BERNAMA