KRK

Dive}i se ljepoti ulova ~ovjek naj~e{}e ne mo`e ostati
ravnodu{an a da ne izusti: “Ma vidi ga kako je
lijep, ali je krasan”. Pravu ljepotu zubaca, rasko{
blje{tavila njegove boje koja traje samo desetak minuta
nakon {to je izva|en iz mora, zna samo onaj tko ga
je ulovio ili sudjelovao u tom ~inu. Za predanog
ribolovca to je vrhunac zaslu`en strpljivim ~ekanjem,
uporno{}u, znanjem i ljubavlju prema moru.
I one koji ne sudjeluju u ribolovu zanima {to su i
koliko su drugi ulovili. Obi~no ljudi znati`eljno
do~ekuju ribare i ribarske brodove. Sretan ulov brzo se
pro~uje. Jedni se raduju ponudi, a drugi zaradi. Uz
privezane brodove sve je puno mirisa i `amora ljudi.
Stari kr~ki ribar koji je pro{ao sve bure i nevere mora i
ribarskog `ivota, pomalo i zavidan na bogatom ulovu
mla|ih ribara, ka`e mi: “Lako je njima sada loviti
imaju jake motore, vitla, ekosondere, radare, mobitele,
stalne vremenske prognoze, satelitsku navigaciju, jake
ferale i sve mogu}e arti. A za moje mladosti sve na
vesla, zavezanih o~iju znali smo na brak doveslati.
Znali smo svaku po{tu, svaku siku, znali smo koja
riba koji kraj ljubi i kako se u koje doba pona{a. Poznavali
smo }ud svake ribe u odre|eno vrijeme, kako se
pona{a za mla|a, a kako za u{tapa, kako u prolje}e i
jesen, a kako za vru}ina i studeni, kako za bonaca i
ju`ine, kako u pojedino doba dana i no}i, kada se mrijesti
i pari, grize ili ne grize, dolazi ili odlazi. Ali sve
ti to nije bila garancija za dobar ulov. A ljeti kada si i
imao dobar ulov ako nije bilo kupaca morao si ribu
opet baciti u more, nije bilo ni leda ni fri`idera. Zbog
obilnijeg ulova i lakog kvarenja ljeti su cijene bile
najni`e. Zimi se manje lovilo i cijene su bile vi{e, a
najbolje su bile u doba adventa i korizme kada je zbog
posnih dana potra`nja bila najve}a. Ribarija ti je i
danguba, mama, lot, sri}a. U narodu se govorilo
“Kada mat rodi ribara, rodi velikoga glada”, a ti si
sigurno ~ul i onu “Ribar ima mokre ga}e za vi~eru
nezna ~a }e”. Je, je lipi moj tako ti je to.” Znam da je
ribarski kruh pun neizvjesnosti i nesigurnosti, i da su
ribari puni nezadovoljstva, a i da ne mogu bez
jadikovki, ka`em mu i pozovem ga na ~a{u vina.
Dobro}udni starac me pogleda blagim osmjehom i nastavi:
“Mi smo znali i po{tivali zakone prirode, a
morali smo se pona{ati i po starim obi~ajima i
propisanim regulama.
98
Admiring the beauty of the catch in hand, man
most often cannot remain indifferent and says: “Look
at this beauty, isn’t it wonderful.” The true beauty of
a dentex and the splendor of his colors which last only
for about ten minutes after being caught, are remembered
only by those who caught it or participated in
the act. To a dedicated fisherman this is the ultimate
reward earned with patience, persistence, knowledge
and love of the sea.
Even those who do not part take in fishing are
interested in what and how much the others have
caught. Usually the people with curiosity await the
fishermen and the fishing boats. The news of an abundant
catch spreads fast. Some people rejoice the supply,
others the earnings. By the moored boats aromas
and crowds abound. An old fisherman from Krk who
had been through all the boras and storms of the sea
and the fishermen’s life, slightly envious of the plentiful
catch of the younger fishermen, told me once: “It is
easy for them to fish now, with those powerful
engines, gears, echosounders, radar, cellular phones,
constant weather forecasts, satellite navigation,
strong lamps and every other gadget imaginable. In
my youth it was all with oars, and even blindfolded
we knew how to reach the submerged rock around
which the fish gathered. We knew every hide, every
rock, we knew which fish liked which shores and how
they behaved in different seasons. We knew the temperament
of every fish at a given time, how they
behaved during the new moon and full moon, in the
spring and fall, in hot and freezing weather, during
calm seas and scirocco winds, at day and night, when
they spawned and mated, bit or didn’t bite, came and
went. Yet, all of this was no guarantee for a good
catch. In the summer, even when the catch was good,
if there were no buyers you had to throw the fish back
into the sea, as then there was no ice and no refrigerators.
Because the catch was more abundant and since
the fish got easily spoiled, the prices were lowest in the
summer. In the winter, the catch was more modest
and then the prices were higher too. They were highest
during Advent and Lent, when the demand was highest
because of the Fast. Fishing is a waste of time,
mother, lottery and luck. The people used to say:
“When a mother gives birth to a fisherman, she gives
birth to great hunger,” and you’ve probably also heard
that “Fisherman’s pants are wet, he has no dinner.”
Yes, my friend, this is how it is.” I know that the fishermen’s
livelihood is full of uncertainty and insecurity,
and that the fishermen are dissatisfied as well, that
they cannot do without complaining. So I told him
and I invited him for a glass of wine. The goodnatured
old man looked at me with a gentle smile and
went on to say: “We knew and respected the laws of
nature, and we also had to behave according to the old
customs and prescribed rules. On the Adriatic, fishing
is done with all the known tools, unfortunately, sometimes
even with illegal means. You couldn’t have gone
fishing wherever and whenever you wanted, but only
in your hide, according to the schedule established by
the lottery. If somebody was fishing in somebody else’s
hide, he had to give half the catch of the day to