Professional fishermen from Israel and 21 other countries converged on the Sea of Galilee this week to participate in a 125-hour long sports fishing contest.
By: TPS
The competition, which began on Sunday and ended Thursday, included recreational fishing and outdoor survival skills, with no break for inclement weather.
Fishermen competed both to catch the largest number of fish, and to break the record of the largest Carp fish ever caught in the Sea of Galilee (Lake Kinneret), which stands at 17 kg pulled out of the lake in 2012.
All fish caught in the contest are weighed and then returned to the water.
Teams from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and South Africa competed, with several teams from the Druze towns in the Golan Heights also vying for the trophy.
Each team consisted of two or three members who received a patch of beach on which they slept in tents and fished throughout the week. The teams rotated in shifts and maintained a 24-hour presence on the water, while remaining almost completely silent to avoid scaring off the fish.
Eight judges with international experience toured various sites, weighing and documenting each fish caught.
The Kinneret never freezes and serves as a focal point for recreational fishermen from around the world.